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I am weak on data analysis and was wondering if there is any helpful resource for my students to use and myself? I struggle with this every year and I have a little idea how to work excel in which my students can use to analyze their data for Science fair and IB (International Baccalaureate) labs.

Hi Jacqueline, What an excellent question to post on our discussion thread! Are you looking for analysis programs, or more of the "how to teach" or the different types of reporting out of data? I looked at your bio and see you teach high school. I will start looking around for some resources on the NSTA site. There are some very tech experience folks that visit the thread, I'm sure one of them will see this post and be able to list several ideas! Meanwhile, enjoy your week! Alyce

Jacqueline,
I found the article 'Graphing Predictions' when I did an Advanced Search through the NSTA site. The article is in the 2/2007 Science Teacher.

The article suggests having students use Excel and graph their predictions before the lab experience, thus enhancing their higher-order thinking skills. The author suggests that asking students to graph their prediction before they begin a lab investigation helps them construct a theoretical context for the investigation.

This suggestion intrigues me. We have our students predict all the time - but I've never had my students predict data tables or graphs. I'm going to try this idea with my students this week.

The journal article can be found at:
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/4/tst07_074_02_42

Let me know if you find this useful, Alyce

Hi Jacqueline,
I think LabWrite (funded by the National Science Foundation) is a good basic resource if you are already familiar with Excel spreadsheets. They have a section called 'Using Error Bars in Graphs' that explains how to find a standard deviation of a single measurement and of a mean (standard error). It has a lot of tutorial help for determining and creating the appropriate data tables and graphs for quantitative and qualitative experiments.
I discovered LabWrite through one of the NSTA journals. The name of the article is:
LabWrite: Transforming Lab Reports From Busy Work to Meaningful Learning Opportunities.
Carolyn

I like to introduce the concepts of mathematical modeling of data. Use data gathered locally, or a public data set. I found several articles that focus on the use of spreadsheets for modeling for both middle and high school. Data in spreadsheets can be displayed in a variety of graphical formats; learning how to create an analytical display to explain results may be as much art form as science.

Data Modeling Collection (5 items)

Tech Trek: Integration and Presentation

- Journal Article

Roadkill Data Analysis: Using Spreadsheets to Integrate Math and Science

- Journal Article

Science Sampler: Making connections in Earth science using local data

- Journal Article

View All 5 Items

Jennifer, Excellent suggestions for data resources and ideas. I love how so many great minds come together with suggestions. I agree with you that data analysis may be considered an art form! A skill that doesn't come easily to me. :)

Has anyone had a chance to look at the new book Earth Science Puzzles: Making Meaning From Data? It looks like it has possibilities for data analysis and critical thinking.

Carolyn, I also love the LabWrite program. I tried to introduce it into my 6-7 integrated science class, but met with resistance from my department.The feeling was that it was too difficult for middle school students. I just checked and the NSTA classifies LabWrite as a college-level resource...is that appropriate? It seemed basic enough to be used in middle school for writing hypotheses and lab reports. Not all of the program features have to be used. Opinions?

Kathy, based on the table of contents, it looks like it would be a good teaching tool for data analysis. The book may be a bit expensive for the average teacher though. It would be great if the NSTA had a chapter in the learning center library.

by Jacqueline DiLorenzo, Sat Dec 04, 2010 7:19 PM
I am weak on data analysis and was wondering if there is any helpful resource for my students to use and myself?

Hi Jacqueline,

I've attached a collection with a few resources that relate to data collection and data analysis. While they are not all specifically for high school level classes, the ideas mentioned can be adapted to work at any level you need.

Best of luck on the IB projects. It's always so much fun to see what great projects the students develop!

Maureen

Hi Adah, Wow, you hit a gold mine of data activities for our students! I visited the "Build a Graph" site and then emailed the link to my math colleague. I'm very excited to use the program with my alternative middle school students - I know they will benefit. I continue to have confused 8th graders when they are asked to label the "X" and "Y" coordinates. Enjoy your week, Alyce

Hi Theresa and Everyone!
Re Theresa's question: I just checked and the NSTA classifies LabWrite as a college-level resource...is that appropriate? It seemed basic enough to be used in middle school for writing hypotheses and lab reports. Not all of the program features have to be used. Opinions?

I agree, Theresa. Seventh and eighth graders who have had or are taking pre Algebra should have no problem with LabWrite. When my middle schoolers were doing science fair projects, I would have loved to have had this program to help them with their data analysis! Once students have had some practice writing hypotheses in class, this is a wonderful resource for them to refer to - even as they continue on in high school and college science classes.
Carolyn

Great Ideas Thanks this look great. I checked out Labwrite and I could really use this for my students. Thanks, for the great ideas.

I came across a gem of an article for facilitating the teaching of Excel spreadsheets for collecting and analyzing data. It is called, 'Cruising the Climate with Spreadsheets'. The author describes easy-to-understand activities where students conduct simple investigations using online data sets and electronic spreadsheets. Her reference/resource list at the end of the article includes a link to a fun M & M spreadsheet activity as well as other excellent resources. It is for grades 4 - 6, but I think it is applicable in 7th and 8th grade if students haven't had too much exposure to spreadsheets.
I wonder if anyone has used any of these activities or has other ideas suitable for our younger students to get them to dabble in data.
Carolyn

Excel works well with data analysis for both labs and science projects. Do the students have access to laptops?

I recently accessed the archived NSTA WebSeminar ' Exploring US Regional Climate Change Impacts: Why it Matters to You' and discovered an excellent resource provided by USDA Forest Service.

The materials on their site 'i-Tree' provides baseline data on your local ecosystem of urban forest management, engaging student activities with an emphasis on environmental quality and community livability.

NSTA also has free podcasts that explain how to use the 'i-Tree' curriculum and background on the research project.

If anyone uses this data based site in their classroom data activities, please share with all of us! Data is a vital skill to teach young scientists and when I'm able to locate current and relevant data they tend to become more engaged. Alyce