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Data literacy is a critical skill for developing the next generation of scientists and informed citizens. Authentic engagement with real-world Earth science datasets in K–12 classrooms is often limited by the complexity of research data and the need for effective pedagogical strategies to support sensemaking. Data Puzzles, a collaborative effort between scientists, curriculum developers, and educators housed at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), addresses this challenge by transforming authentic Earth and climate science datasets into structured, instructional modules designed for secondary classrooms. Each Data Puzzle is anchored in a relevant Earth system phenomenon and pairs authentic datasets (e.g., from satellite observations, field sensors, and physical samples) with research-based instructional practices from Ambitious Science Teaching (AST, Windschitl et al., 2020 ) to support data-driven reasoning, uncertainty exploration, and evidence-based explanation. Data Puzzle lessons have been adopted by hundreds of educators, empowering thousands of students to analyze and interpret authentic datasets while building critical data literacy skills. In parallel, the emerging Puzzle Piece resources allow students and teachers to extend structured learning into open-ended investigations using large, secondary datasets within a free, web-based analysis platform (CODAP). This combination of structured and open-ended resources creates an accessible pathway from curated datasets toward exploratory science practices, amplifying the’ broader impacts of science by translating complex datasets into classroom-ready learning experiences. This presentation will demonstrate how Data Puzzles serve as a model for scientists to broaden the impact of their research, enabling authentic data use and discovery in classrooms nationwide. We will share examples of how scientists’ data have been integrated into Data Puzzle lessons, highlight outcomes from teacher professional learning experiences, and discuss how this framework helps foster equitable data access and supports the next generation of Earth scientists and informed citizens.
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This content will become publicly available on November 14, 2026
Data Puzzles: Integrating Authentic Data and Ambitious Science Teaching Practices to Help Students Make Sense of Climate Phenomena
Teachers have expressed a desire to incorporate authentic climate data into their curricula, but struggle to find accessible and meaningful datasets that can be easily integrated into modern teaching practices. In response to this problem, climate scientists and instructional specialists from the University of Colorado Boulder have collaborated to create "Data Puzzles", a free resource that utilizes instructional practices as outlined by Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) to engage students in data analysis in the context of important scientific research. Data Puzzles challenge students to analyze and interpret climate datasets to construct explanatory models for important questions like, "What is causing the megadrought in the Colorado River Basin?” and "Why might the Arctic be warming faster than. the rest of the world?".
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- PAR ID:
- 10703272
- Publisher / Repository:
- National Science Teaching Association
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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