Real World, Real Science 1.0 (RWRS)

Challenge

It is important to build students’ understanding of weather patterns and natural ecosystems, as well as to build their data literacy and ability to make sense of large data sets. Yet educators need support to guide students’ use of large data sets and engage students in high-quality earth science learning.

Through the NASA-funded Real World, Real Science (RWRS) project, EDC partnered with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) to re-invent their LabVenture experience for fifth- and sixth-grade students. LabVenture focuses on the use of authentic data—including data from NASA and NOAA—to explore the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Through classroom-ready modules, students built on what they learned during LabVenture to study additional weather patterns and natural ecosystems in Maine.

Key Activities

The project carried out the following activities:

• Worked with GMRI to develop a new learning experience focused on the Gulf of Maine for the LabVenture Program at the Cohen Center for Interactive Learning
• Created classroom-ready, data-focused curriculum modules on Maine’s habitats
• Evaluated the data skills and learning outcomes of students who participated in the LabVenture experience and who used the classroom modules
• Documented students’ thinking about data, weather patterns, and ecosystems
• Described the development of a data-focused science center community of practice (COP) among New England science and technology centers (STCs)

Our Impact

• EDC developed seven classroom modules that enable fifth- and sixth-grade students to explore different Maine ecosystems using scientific data. During the 2019-2020 school year, the modules were used with 20 teachers and nearly 300 students.
• EDC’s evaluation examined data from nearly 300 students from 17 classrooms who attended LabVenture and used the classroom modules. Students demonstrated significant gains in data skills and understanding of weather patterns and ecosystems in the Gulf of Maine.
• The evaluation team worked with GMRI leadership to inform the development of a COP among STCs, resulting in new data-focused activities for informal science contexts.
• The EDC and GMRI teams presented papers and posters at conferences, including the 2021 annual conference of the National Association for Research on Science Teaching (NARST) and the 2021 annual conference of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
• GMRI was funded for a second phase of Real World, Real Science. In this phase, they are building on the work of Real World, Real Science 1.0 and creating connected learning ecosystems  for youth, which include authentic scientific datasets and historical knowledge. EDC is conducting the evaluation of this work.