Data-driven inquiry as a science practice and instructional approach can provide a powerful context for project-based learning (PBL). Students engage in data-driven inquiry when they explore a rich data set and observe patterns, ask questions suggested by the data, and pursue answers about underlying phenomena. Krajcik (2015) describes five…

When high school students are asked what's the best part of science class, many will say it's the field trips. Students enjoy engaging in authentic, community-based science outside the classroom. To capitalize on this, Patrick Willis created the Bird Box Survey Project for his introductory field biology class. The project takes students…

The number of students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is declining due in part to a lack of student interest (Fairweather 2008; NRC 2012; PCAST 2010). One reason may be the difference between how science is done in school and how it is done in the field (Osborne, Simon, and Collins 2003). An interdisciplinary…