Incorporating Data Analysis into Undergraduate Courses Rachel O’Brien, Allegheny College Rajul Pandya, AGU Preparing for an Academic Career in Geosciences Workshop: Summer 2013

Data and assignments can be tailored to reach a broad range of student groups K-12Graduate courses Can be used in one class/lab session or throughout an entire course Data sets are flexible

Majority of online sources are now free Simple, low-cost field and lab work Data sets are cost-effective Data sets are concept-effective Allow for compare/contrast work at a range of spatial & temporal scales Single or multi-concept patterns

Allow students the opportunity to practice science and promote active learning Data sets are engaging Data sets are real Require students to grapple with issues of complexity, uncertainty, and outliers

Ocean Circulation Classic textbook Pacific high latitude Atlantic low latitude a.gov/epic/ewb/ Profiles

Newly created datasets –Field work and/or lab work in your course –A genuine research experiment Data from published literature –Journal articles, government documents, NGO reports Online datasets –Teach particular concepts and/or skills –Recreate research, test hypotheses Data sets are diverse in topic, scope, and format

A great place to start resources

Design how you’ll use data –Identify clear learning outcomes for content, concepts, and/or skills –What steps in the process are most important for your students to practice? (collection and reduction vs. analysis and reporting) –How will you address uncertainty, outliers, etc.? Data sets are not stand alone resources

Logistics –Work through all steps of the process ahead of time –Envision and create “Plan B” Evaluation Did the use of data help student learning? How will you know? Data sets are not foolproof

A partial list of A partial list of Web sites with earth science data CUAHSI-HIS EPANSIDC GEOROC UNAVCO IPCC USDA LDEOUSGS NCAR NOAA

Geodetic Data UNAVCOEarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory

Earthquake Data USGS Earthquake Hazards Program &SCEC So. California Earthquake Center

Hydrologic Data USGS Water Resources Division

Satellite Imagery NASA Earth Observatory

Earth, Ocean, & Climate Data NASA Eyes on the Earth 3D

Atmospheric Data (from NCAR) Climate Data Guide Climate Data Guide offers critiques of data sets and their use by experts from the broader research and education community The Community Data PortalCommunity Data Portal is a comprehensive index of weather, climate and atmospheric data. The NCAR GIS ProgramThe NCAR GIS Program has a range of climate and demographic data, including IPCC scenarios, available in GIS

Sample Activity: Radiation Budget Learning Outcomes: Students construct global and local energy balance from observed longwave and solar radiation and relate that to spatial and temporal variations in Earth’s temperature. Time: Takes about 3 hours for students in teams, requires familiarity with GIS or MyWorld A complete description of this activity is available at SERC, called Earth’s Energy Budget Earth’s Energy Budget by Dave Dempsey

Sample Activity: Ice Core Analysis Learning Outcomes: Students use Excel to graph and analyze ice core data and learn about past variations in CO 2, temperature, and climate cycles Time: Takes about 4 hours A complete description of this activity, called Vostek Ice Core by Robert MacKay, is available at SERCVostek Ice Core

Exploration activity Choose a course: Introductory level or advanced course (grad or undergrad) Identify a website with datasets that could be used in the course –OR- identify new datasets that the students can generate What concepts(s) and/or skill(s) do you want the students to learn by using the data?