Collaborative Research: Data-driven Inquiry in Geoscience Environmental Restoration Studies

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

Educational researchers from SRI International and geoscientists from the University of Washington (UW) are engaging American Indian high school and college students from the Puget Sound region of Washington State in the geosciences through place-based field work, while exploring models for developing data literacy and enhancing quantitative reasoning skills by connecting abstract representations of place-based spatio-temporal data with inquiry tasks. Employing curriculum and assessment methods developed by SRI, the team is developing and piloting problem-based, inquiry-oriented curriculum modules about the environmental history of the Washington State Puget Sound region and about what implications the history has for the American Indian communities in the region. The Data-driven Inquiry in Geoscience Environmental Restoration Studies (DIGERS) modules are using data collected by the UW team for the Puget Sound Regional Synthesis Model (PRISM) and Puget Sound River History Project. The modules will be pilot-tested in a new undergraduate environmental history course at UW and in science classes in high schools serving American Indian students in Seattle and Puget Sound tribal communities. The curriculum modules will consist of problem-based units and performance assessments centered on student use of the UW data, plus accompanying geographic visualizations and other representations. DIGERS will provide the UW geoscientists with the opportunity to demonstrate to the regional tribes that their research, some of which has been funded by Puget Sound tribes, can be used in the service of the American Indian youths? STEM education in addition to use by tribal agencies in resource restoration and management. DIGERS will provide adaptable and publically available designs of data-centered geoscience inquiry tasks that can support future development of high school and undergraduate-level curricula. In addition, the project will contribute to the knowledge base about how students can become more engaged and more skilled in geoscience inquiry and data analysis and what variations in educational supports and expectations should exist to build successful experiences for the students with the materials.