Sharing research findings with the non-science public is an important part of the science process, yet is often one of the most challenging to achieve. With broader impacts a factor in most grants, finding effective methods of communication and transmission is key. Data Nuggets, an initiative originating under the Kellogg Biological Station K-12 partnership, is a practical, high-impact solution to this conundrum. If you need to increase broader impacts for your research and want to further develop your communication skills, consider making a Data Nugget based on your research!
Data Nuggets (http://datanuggets.org) are targeted classroom activities that emphasize developing quantitative skills for K-16 students. They are created from recent and ongoing research, bringing cutting edge science into the classroom and helping scientists share their work with broad audiences. The standard format of each Data Nugget provides a brief background to a researcher and their study system along with a dataset from their research. Students are challenged to answer a scientific question, using the dataset to support their claim, and are guided through the construction of graphs to facilitate data interpretation.
We are currently seeking to add to our collection of Data Nuggets to showcase science done across the LTER network. Learn more about our project at http://datanuggets.org/. Come to our poster to learn more about our template and talk to us about identifying a proper dataset, scientific question, and hypothesis for students of many ages.