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iPhone App for Data Collection and Critical Thinking about Ecology and Biodiversity

EcoData is a powerful iPhone app designed to facilitate data collection and critical thinking about ecology and biodiversity. Developed by Nancy Butler Songer, a renowned professor of science education, EcoData provides systematic guidance in developing content and science practices, allowing users to build scientific explanations around focal content in biology, ecology, and climate change. With a user-friendly interface and comprehensive features, EcoData empowers students and researchers to record and analyze animal data easily, using icon-based entry options on their iPhone, iPods, or PDAs.

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iPhone App for Data Collection and Critical Thinking about Ecology and Biodiversity

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  1. iPhone App for Data Collection and Critical Thinking about Ecology and Biodiversity Nancy Butler Songer Professor of Science Education and Learning Technologies The University of Michigan 10 April 2012

  2. Working with Next Generation Science Standards • 1. Focus on fewer big ideas building over time • Japanese eighth-grade textbooks cover eight topics, compared to an average of more than 65 for U.S. eighth-grade textbooks.” (Linn, Lewis, Tsuchida, Songer, 2000) • 2. Emphasize science practices • e.g., explanations, predictions, data collection, modeling • 3. Systematic guidance in developing content + science practices

  3. What We Do • Build tools + curricular units emphasizing guided development of explanations around focal content • 4, 5, 6th grade biology/ecology (8 weeks) • 8th grade, high school Climate Change (8-14 weeks)

  4. Fusing Content + Practices • Content Ecology 13: Because many animals rely on each other, a change in the number of one species can affect different members of the web. • Science Practice Explanations: Students build a complete scientific explanation consisting of a claim, two pieces of Evidence and Reasoning with content hints • Learning goal: Students construct scientific explanations to address the question, how have recent changes in the Detroit River affected yellow perch populations?

  5. Systematic Guidance of Strategic Thinking

  6. 26% of fourth graders have difficulty generating two pieces of evidence for an explanation, even with guidance • (Songer and Gotwals, 2012)

  7. Passing Percentages by State, District, and Treatment Schools On State Science Test, Eighth Grade (MEAP) (Numbers in parentheses indicate standard error)

  8. Results: Achievement by Completion as Measured by Three Tests (N= 1885)

  9. BioKIDS app for animal data collection Record data on phones, ipods, PDAs Icon-based entry

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