Potential sequence of classroom activities that advance in the complexity and sophistication of students' interactions with authentic messy data.
| Data Characteristics . | Potential Focal Topics . |
|---|---|
| Activity type A. Simplified second-hand data, summarized, curated to display a clear trend | Easily illustrate a specific scientific concept (e.g., NGSS Disciplinary Core Idea) and how scientific results are disseminated |
| Activity type B. Second-hand data that include some level of messiness (e.g., variation, outliers, does not follow predictions) or curation by student | Introduce students to statistical concepts, curation, how to interpret data with variation and unexpected results, how data can be modified and displayed in different ways |
| Activity type C. First-hand data collected from classroom labs or inquiry projects | Asking scientific questions, how to quantify variables, importance of experimental design (e.g., replicates, controls); give students ownership and a personal connection to data |
| Activity type D. Large, second-hand online data sets with guided instruction | Introduction to computational tasks and data visualization techniques, examine variability at a larger scale |
| Activity type E. Large, second-hand online data sets open to student inquiry investigation | Organizing data, finding and selecting appropriate variables, building knowledge from multiple sources |
| Data Characteristics . | Potential Focal Topics . |
|---|---|
| Activity type A. Simplified second-hand data, summarized, curated to display a clear trend | Easily illustrate a specific scientific concept (e.g., NGSS Disciplinary Core Idea) and how scientific results are disseminated |
| Activity type B. Second-hand data that include some level of messiness (e.g., variation, outliers, does not follow predictions) or curation by student | Introduce students to statistical concepts, curation, how to interpret data with variation and unexpected results, how data can be modified and displayed in different ways |
| Activity type C. First-hand data collected from classroom labs or inquiry projects | Asking scientific questions, how to quantify variables, importance of experimental design (e.g., replicates, controls); give students ownership and a personal connection to data |
| Activity type D. Large, second-hand online data sets with guided instruction | Introduction to computational tasks and data visualization techniques, examine variability at a larger scale |
| Activity type E. Large, second-hand online data sets open to student inquiry investigation | Organizing data, finding and selecting appropriate variables, building knowledge from multiple sources |