Weather X: Building Data Literacy among Rural Youth
Published: 2022
Publication Name: 2022 STEM for All Video Showcase: Access, Inclusion and Equity
Publication URL: https://stemforall2022.videohall.com/presentations/2359
Abstract:
WeatherX is an NSF-funded ITEST project that is collaborating with middle school science teachers in New Hampshire and Maine to promote data literacy and interests in data science careers among students from low-income rural communities. We have developed and have been testing two 3-week prototype curriculum units in which students investigate local weather patterns using large-scale data collected from NOAA and extreme storm data from the Mount Washington Observatory (MWO) – a site that has been called the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather.”
Students use the online tool CODAP to visualize weather data patterns and to conduct their data analyses. They learn about existing weather knowledge in their local communities by interviewing family and community members about their experiences with extreme weather. They also learn about professional weather data collection and the lives of weather scientists through live “Chat with a Scientist” events with weather observers who work at the summit of Mount Washington Observatory (MWO).
With a mixed-methods and iterative research approach, we have tested an alpha version of our prototype units and are now completing a beta round of testing with 6 middle-school science teachers and their students. We have been collecting student pre- and post-assessment data; student focus group and survey data; student work samples; teacher implementation logs and interviews; and classroom observations to investigate whether and how WeatherX learning experiences support growth in students’ understanding of core data practices, interests in data analysis, and career interests in working with data.
Our interdisciplinary project team consists of education researchers, curriculum developers, learning scientists, and technology developers. Team members include Jo Louie, Emily Fagan, Kevin Waterman, Brianna Roche, and Pam Buffington from Education Development Center (EDC); Brian Fitzgerald from MWO; Asli Sezen-Barrie from the University of Maine-Orono; Deb Morrison from the University of Washington-Seattle; and Bill Finzer from the Concord Consortium.
NSF Program: Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST)
NSF Awards: 1850447
Louie, J., Buffington, P., Fagan, E., Fitzgerald, B., Roche, B., Sezen-Barrie, A., & Waterman, K. (2022, May). Weather X: Building Data Literacy among Rural Youth. 2022 STEM for All Video Showcase: Access, Inclusion and Equity. https://stemforall2022.videohall.com/presentations/2359