Building Insights Through Observation: Integrating Art and Science to Support Sensemaking
Explore an innovative model to help middle school students make sense of Earth and Environmental Science phenomena through data visualization! Attendees will participate in a program that uses arts-based approaches to support sensemaking and data skills and get access to classroom-ready resources.
Data literacy is critical for addressing real-world challenges. However, making sense of complex data can be formidable and the public often lacks the transdisciplinary skills needed to understand, make sense of, and think critically about data. To develop these skills and build student capacity to connect data to content knowledge and create meaning, a new model was developed for middle school science classrooms. Building Insights through Observation (BIO) uses hands-on, arts-based approaches with science content and geospatial data visualizations and is adaptable for most Earth and Environmental Science topics. It allows differentiation for learners, pacing and discussion, and supports student-driven sensemaking. Attendees will experience the program as students, reflect on how the approach supports teaching and learning, and access free classroom-ready resources. Teachers experienced in implementing the BIO model will assist attendees to understand and adapt it for their needs.
