Teaching with Data

1. Teaching with Data Cathy Manduca Iowa State University, 2005

2. Consider design of a data rich activity • Questions we need to ask • Decisions we need to make • Resources we need to find

3. Using Data Can . . • Engage students in learning • By providing real world context • Creating student ownership of questions • Enhance learning experience • Better retention by constructing knowledge • Transferable or useable understanding • Understanding of process of scientific inquiry • Subtlety

4. A Range of OpportunitiesWe can use data. . • To illustrate or describe • As a basis for problem solving • To understand a concept • To learn a technique • To engage in research • As a basis for making judgments

5. ~8.5 mm/50 yrs = 0.17 mm/yr To Illustrate Concepts Weathering Rate of Marble Tombstones in Sydney, Australia

6. To Enable Inquiry

7. http://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/yellowstone/index.htmlhttp://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/yellowstone/index.html

8. A spectrum of inquiry approaches • Students engaged in collecting data • Students engaged in generating questions • Testing personal data with theory

9. What are your goals? • What do you want to accomplish? • What should students be able to do? • What is your measure of success?

10. From Goals to Outcomes:Designing the activity Choices, Choices, Choices • What kind of activity? • Student driven vs instructor driven? • Independence vs guidance?

11. A design strategy • Establish goals, measure of success • Consider wisdom from research and experience • Consider context: who are your students, what are your assets and constraints • Develop activity based on wisdom to meet goals while exploiting assets and meeting constraints • Evaluate results and tune system

12. Wisdom from Learning Science (How People Learn, NRC) • Learning is additive, it builds on current understanding • Understanding is actively constructed -This requires an engaged learner -Different people construct/learn most easily in different ways • Learning to learn-metacognition is an important aspect of becoming an expert and is context specific

13. More Wisdom from Learning Science • To develop competence students must: • Have a deep foundation of factual knowledge • Understand ideas in the context of conceptual framework • Organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application

14. Inquiry is Hard

16. Inquiry is Hard • Inquiry and research are complex learned skills • What do your students know that will help them • Ask questions? • Find and interpret data? • Draw conclusions? • Communicate results?

17. Scaffolding Supporting structures that help the students develop the expertise needed to operate independently.

18. Scaffolding Brainstorm • GOAL: You want students to be able to understand the evidence for X (climate change, plate tectonics, El Nino, global warming) • STRATEGY: Look at data, see fundamental relationships, relate to processes/theory • PROBLEM: We gave the students a lecture about theory and the data to look at. Asked them to make an argument based on the data that supported the theory. They all failed. How do you scaffold the activity?

19. Tools and Techniques • Learning tools and techniques is different than developing a conceptual understanding of the science • Match time on tools to objectives of class • Develop mastery of tool - can you use it creatively • Only master really useful tools-time invested must be on a par with usefullness • Learning tools requires motivation, construction, and refinement. • Provide opportunities for practice outside class or lab

20. Build in Reflection and Discussion • Writing • Journals/Progress Reports/Highlights • Papers—a writing process • Websites • E-mail • Drawing • Speaking • Progress reports • Final reports • Informal conversation • Thinking

21. How do we tell if it worked? • Be thoughtful in your own assessments: • Be a careful observer • Collect data to verify your theories • Match the assessment to the goal • What is the goal? • What do we want the student to be able to do? • How can that be measured? • Build on the work of the education research community • SLAG/PBS/SIBLE/WISE • Collaborate with resource developers and peers

22. In sum • Using data is a powerful and flexible tool for learning • It can be used to increase motivation for learning and is a foundation for activities that construct knowledge • Using data must be incorporated in well designed activities that provide for knowledge construction and reflection. • Developing inquiry and analysis skills are significant tasks that must be accounted for in planning

23. Resources

24. Using Data in the Classroom Portal: data, tools, activities and pedagogy Starting Point Teaching Entry Level Geoscience: Teaching with Data; Teaching with Models Earth Exploration Toolbook: Step by step instructions Integrating Research and Education: Ideas and Resources for Bringing Cutting Edge Geoscience into Teaching Bringing Research on Learning to the Geosciences: bibliography, on-going research efforts serc.carleton.edu Teaching with Data

25. NSDL Workshop Report • What do we mean by data? • Why is using data important? • How do we do it? • What do we know about how well this works? • What are the implications for digital libraries and data providers ?

26. Tips for success • Design exercises with student background in mind--an overwhelming or negative early experience with data can be devastating to student confidence. • Create a safety net to support students through the challenges of research. • Develop a balance between guidance and inquiry that is appropriate for the student and the learning objectives. • Create opportunities for students to work with data and tools outside of class or lab. • Match the time spent in learning tools to the goals of course and student proficiency, being careful not to introduce more tools or techniques than students can master. • Reflection, discussion, and reporting are important aspects of the research experience that need to be incorporated in the planning of the exercise.

27. Activities Using Data and Models • Learning Goals • Context • Materials • Tips • Assessment • References and resources