Engaging students and teachers in science learning and data literacy through inquiry with real time data in the context of locally relevant climate change phenomena

We will share a suite of activities to support student engagement with locally relevant real-time National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) data. Students use ideas of cause and effect as the basis for developing solutions to a real life problem faced by oyster farmers in one community in the Pacific Northwest. The highlighted activities are part of a larger collection of activities that provide students with opportunities for self-directed exploration of the natural world, and help them gain a deeper understanding of carbon cycling, ocean acidification, and other phenomena related to climate change. These activities are designed to apply current research-based effective teaching and learning practices with the three-dimensional approach to teaching in mind (e.g., NGSS-aligned), and also use a data literacy framework to help guide students through data orientation, interpretation, and synthesis. All activities can be freely accessed from the ACLIPSE project website. The ACLIPSE teaching materials have been introduced to middle and high school teachers through NERR educators around the country.