Unit Overview
“When you first started, you didn’t really understand it. But after switching social studies, math, science, language arts -- you do things different ways. Every class has some different way to understand.” (Student Reflection).
The Thinking With Data (TWD) unit consists of a sequence of four modules that are designed to teach data literacy skills at the middle school level. The data literacy objectives of the TWD unit focus on asking and answering data-based questions; using appropriate data, data manipulation tools and data representations; and developing and evaluating data-based explanations and inferences.
Activities and materials are designed around student investigations of water issues in the Tigris/Euphrates basin and in six US watersheds, using real world data. Data manipulation across the unit centers on the notion of proportional reasoning, an important part of middle school curriculum and the foundation for higher mathematics.
Preparing to Teach the TWD Unit
It is important to have a solid understanding of the TWD content, data literacy objectives, the Preparation for Future Learning (PFL) approach, and different approaches to argumentation. The sections below explain each of these elements and provide links to more detailed pages. In addition, preparation to teach the TWD unit should include the following:
Teachers
- gain an understanding of the unit as a whole and how the module to be taught fits into that;please download
the
- unit flowchart
- brief summary of the content of each of the four modules; and
- abbreviated or extended list of research-based, suggested best practices for teaching the TWD curriculum
- collaborate with colleagues who will be teaching the various modules of the TWD unit, particularly with regards to transitioning from one module to the next. This is especially important in the transition from Social Studies to Mathematics.
- preview the lessons in the module to be taught;
- secure the necessary resources, especially (access to) digital tools;
- read what teachers and students say about the TWD curriculum.
Administrators
- gain an understanding of the unit as a whole and how the module to be taught fits into that;please download the brief unit flowchart and summary of the content of each of the four modules;
- read the Suggestions for Administrators to be able to provide teachers with the resources they need with regards to:
- scheduling
- teacher collaboration
- professional development
- technology
- read what teachers and students say about the TWD curriculum.
More detailed recommendations for preparing to teach the individual modules are provided on their respective overview pages.
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World Water Issues In Social Studies, students use existing data to explore water availability and usage in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, and try to devise fair ways of sharing available water. In Mathematics, they learn techniques of proportional reasoning to expand on their Social Studies work and develop data-based solutions and arguments for fair use. In Science, they learn about the science behind water issues in the Tigris/Euphrates basin. Students then explore water issues in six US watersheds. In English Language Arts, students develop reports on these issues and present possible solutions to them as persuasive arguments, in multimedia formats supported by data-based evidence, and present these to a larger audience. |
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Data Literacy Data literacy is the ability to ask and answer meaningful questions by collecting, analyzing and making sense of data encountered in our everyday lives. In our increasingly data-driven society, data literacy is arguably an important civic skill and one that we should be developing in our students. In addition, using data to connect school subjects with real-world events makes learning a richer and more meaningful experience. It can move students beyond simply learning facts to beginning to acquire skills in inquiry, critical reasoning, argumentation and communication. |
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PFL The TWD curriculum prepares students to learn proportional reasoning and data literacy in one curricular context (Social Studies) to learn in another one (Mathematics). The TWD curriculum then extends the PFL approach to include application and communication activities in still other curricular contexts (Science and ELA, respectively). |
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Argumentation The perspectives through which the different disciplines approach argumentation are quite different:
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