Enhancing Use of Data in Education: Bridging the Scientific and Educational Communities

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The overarching goal of the Enhancing the Use of Data in Education project is to integrate Earth system science research and education through a series of yearly Data in Education Workshops. The PIs will reach out broadly within the scientific, technological, and educational communities, bringing workshop participants together into small teams to learn about the data-use needs and capabilities of other groups, and to develop educational modules that guide teachers and students through valid examples for using data and tools. The outcomes of this effort will ultimately make Earth science data, the technology to access and analyze that data, and educational modules that facilitate the use of those data and tools accessible and usable by the educational community. These resources will be available through digital libraries such as the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners' Earth Information Exchange, the National Science Digital Library (NSDL), and the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE). The project will facilitate the active integration of research and education by bringing together a professionally diverse community that includes data providers, tools developers, scientists, curriculum developers, and educators for the purpose of 1) informing each other of their data use needs and capabilities, 2) contributing their expertise to the development of an educational module (a chapter in the Earth Exploration Toolbook) that features research quality Earth science datasets and data analysis tools, and 3) developing ongoing relationships with professionally diverse colleagues. The Earth Exploration Toolbook chapters that are completed as a result of this project will be made available to a broad spectrum of the educational community. In addition, as part of the Earth Exploration Toolbook collection, the chapters will be featured in a separately funded teacher professional development program. This will extend the use of their featured data and tools to teachers and students across the nation. Second, the participants in the workshops will develop new partnerships with colleagues, who they would not have met otherwise, that will greatly expand their capabilities with respect to the integration of research and education in their own fields of expertise and their ability to engage other professionally diverse communities.