Data Nuggets

What exactly does a scientist do? How does she collect information and make sense of it all?

Data Nuggets are free classroom activities, co-designed by scientists and teachers, designed to bring contemporary research and authentic data into the classroom. Data Nuggets feature a scientist role model and the story of what inspired their research. In a Data Nugget activity, students are guided through the entire process of science, including identifying hypotheses and predictions, visualizing and interpreting data, supporting claims using data as evidence, and asking their own questions for future research. Because of their simplicity and flexibility, Data Nuggets can be used throughout the school year and across grades K-16, as students grow in their quantitative abilities and gain confidence. Data Nuggets have the potential to improve the understanding of science in society while engaging and motivating the next generation of scientists.

From topics such as “Won’t you be my urchin” to “Sticky situations: big and small animals with sticky feet,” teachers get to pick and choose from numerous options that get their students to think like a scientist, while the scientists who write the curriculum have an opportunity to share their research findings with a new audience in science.