How can we prepare students for a world where data-driven decision-making shapes nearly every aspect of life? "Data Minds: How Today's Teachers Can Prepare Students for Tomorrow's World" helps K-8 educators infuse data literacy into everyday lessons across disciplines, without overwhelming existing curricula. Data literacy is an ability…

In "Equity Learning Communities," Daniel Reinholz recommends sustained, collaborative professional development group meetings as a launchpad for higher education instructors to enhance classroom equity and inclusivity. In Reinholz's approach, community members make use of debrief sessions, collaborative problem solving, and empirical…

Fisheries scientists make sure that fish populations ("fisheries") are managed properly, neither over- or under-utilized, to maintain long-term economic and ecological stability. Scientists collect data and conduct surveys to determine fish populations, and then make recommendations about how many fish may be caught by commercial and…

Motivating middle school students to learn can be challenging. One proven method for doing so is through an integrated curriculum. Educational philosophers and curriculum theorists have long noted the benefits of an integrated curriculum, which recognizes that the subject areas within the curriculum are connected to one another and to the real…

"Mathematical Thinking: From Assessment Items to Challenging Tasks" is a compilation of 36 problem-based lessons that encourage students to engage in productive struggle and deep thinking. Its 36 full-length lessons for grades 2-8 are each inspired by an actual test item from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).…

What if you could challenge your second graders to design an outdoor STEM classroom with a butterfly garden, birdbath, and sundial? With this volume in the "STEM Road Map Curriculum Series," you can! "Investigating Environmental Changes" outlines a journey that will steer your students toward authentic problem solving while…

Linear functions are an important part of the middle school mathematics curriculum. Students in the middle grades gain fluency by working with linear functions in a variety of representations (NCTM 2001). Presented in this article is an activity that was used with five eighth-grade classes at three different schools. The activity contains 15 cards…

To address third- and fourth-year chemistry students' difficulties with the challenge of interpreting [superscript 1]H NMR spectra, a problem solving-cooperative learning technique was incorporated in a Spectra of Organic Compounds course. Using this approach helped students deepen their understanding of the basics of [superscript 1]H NMR…

Using data for school improvement is a key goal of Race to the Top, and now is the time to make data-driven school improvement a priority. However, many educators are drowning in data. Boost your professional learning community's ability to translate data into action with this new book from Pam Robbins and Robert T. Hess. "The Data Toolkit"…

Describes an activity that engages pupils in the whole statistical process from collecting data to interpreting the results. Discusses the importance of these activities in developing knowledge, skills, understanding, and ability in problem solving. (Author/ASK)

Presents an instructional framework for real-world, problem-based studies that can be used in a variety of settings. Discusses background knowledge, problem exposition, data collection and analysis, data synthesis and solution presentation, and career information. (JRH)

Presents an investigation to engage students in real-life, open-ended data analysis. Allows students to analyze existing data along with data that they collect. Lists steps, necessary materials, and includes activity sheets. (Author/NB)

Presents four sets of activities to develop the concepts of data analysis and graphing. Students estimate sample populations using beans, examine graphs from newspapers and magazines, predict the most popular color of cars, and simulate quality control in a manufacturing process. (MDH)

Describes a two-day forensic science course that is offered to eighth grade students enrolled in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Magnet Schools. Provides sample student activity sheets for the course. (Author/RT)

Details an investigation concerned with the composition of a grape to illustrate how food and nutrition topics can drive inquiry-oriented science learning. Students design experiments that surround the development of a fictitious new beverage. (DDR)