Guiding Students to Use Evidence to Support their Scientific Reasoning

Monday 1:30pm-4:00pm SERC Building - 108B
Afternoon Mini Workshop

Leaders

Kathy Browne, Rider University
Andrea Drewes, Rider University
Gabriela Smalley, Rider University
Sage Lichtenwalner, Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Scientific reasoning is complex and many of us have experienced our students struggling to excel in this skill. In this interactive workshop, participants will be introduced to an instructional framework that our research project has tested to help improve undergraduate students' reasoning through a connection with data literacy skills. We will share and explore online interactive data visualizations of oceanographic data, lesson plans and an assessment rubric.

Goals

By the end of this workshop, participants will:

  • learn about the DCER framework and strategies to develop student data literacy skills, including some research results
  • explore the collection of interactive data activities and data widget, and brainstorm some possible application ideas
  • practice assessing example student work based on the DCER framework rubric
  • apply the strategies to participants' courses

With NSF funding, we have been testing a strategy built into general education introductory oceanography courses that helps students connect data literacy and reasoning skills to compose evidence-based scientific explanations.

The data sets used in this program will be related to the ocean sciences but the strategies introduced can be used in any science. The example exercises were designed for an introductory level undergraduate science class for both new earth science majors and students seeking to satisfy a science general education requirement. But the approach would be relevant for any level with adaptations made by participants for their student populations.

Program

1:30 Welcome and introductions

1:40 Background about instructional framework (modified from McNeill et. al. 2006) designed to use data literacy development to enhance students' scientific reasoning

2:00 Small-group explorations of data visualization example designed for our project

2:15 Small-group study of example lesson plan to locate data literacy skills development steps

2:30 Small-group practice with rubric using example student work

2:50 Introduction to all data visualizations from this project and highlights from research results

3:00 Guidance to apply to participants' classes

3:30 Sharing application ideas

3:45 Wrap-up and workshop evaluation

4:00 Adjourn

Outcomes

Outcomes will include participants' application of materials to their own relevant curricula.

Resources

Online interactive data widgets

Activities collection

Rubric (Acrobat (PDF) 171kB Jun14 24)

Browne et al EER 2024 Workshop slides.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 3.9MB Jul13 24)Slides

Research results poster

References cited:

Hotaling, L., McDonnell, J. M., Ferraro, C., Florio, K., & Lichtenwalner, S. (2019). Educating with data, in Fauville, G., Payne, D. L., Marrero, M. E., Lantz-Andersson, A. & Crouch, F. (Eds.), Exemplary Practices in Marine Science Education: A Resource for Practitioners and Researchers. Springer, pp. 17-224.

McNeill, K. L., Lizotte, D. J., Krajcik, J., & Marx, R. W. (2006). Supporting students' construction of scientific explanations by fading scaffolds in instructional material. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 75(2), 153-191.

McNeill, K. L., & Krajcik, J. (2007). Middle school students' use of appropriate and inappropriate evidence in writing scientific explanations. In M. C. Lovett & P. Shah (Eds.), Thinking with Data (pp. 233–265). Taylor & Francis.

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