Interpreting Data

Data Explorer, our newest web tool, helps students build their skills in data literacy and science practices by exploring real research data. We’ve included curated, authentic data sets for two of our most frequently used resource collections — finches in the Galápagos and elephant populations under poaching — supplemented with background information. Users can also upload their own data. 

Analyze & Visualize 

Students can use Data Explorer to easily create a variety of plots to visualize data, generate statistical summaries of data, and perform hypothesis testing with a variety of tests. The Data Explorer webpage features supporting documents with background information and implementation suggestions. Our in-depth materials for educators, and guides to selecting plot types and statistical analyses, will help you implement this tool in your classroom. 

Investigating Elephant Evolution

Use authentic research data to explore the impact of poaching on African elephants. This new activity, which accompanies our Data Explorer web tool, uses a data set collected from elephant populations that have historically suffered heavy poaching. Students first explore the data based on their own research questions. They then investigate evidence of evolution in these populations, such as changes in tusk size over time, through more guided graphical and/or statistical analyses. 

Following Footsteps

Laetoli, a paleontological site in Tanzania, is famous for its fossil footprints of early human ancestors. But who left these footprints and under what circumstances? In this new Phenomenal Image activity, students explore a lesson sequence about multiple lines of evidence for human evolution.

Going Virtual

New workshops alert! We’re excited to offer free, online professional development workshops for life and environmental science educators. These workshops have all the elements you value about our professional development, including opportunities to hear from expert educators, interact with BioInteractive resources, and learn from other educators. All of our workshops are designed to be engaging and reflective, and relevant to a variety of educational settings and contexts. We are offering a variety of experiences to best suit educators’ needs and schedules. 

Phenomenal Lessons

A storyline is a sequence of lessons that has an anchoring phenomenon: something that makes the student “notice and wonder” and that inspires their natural curiosity to ask questions about what may be causing this phenomenon. In this Educator Voices article, Kathy Van Hoeck discusses how to implement a storyline about the phenomenon of elephant tusklessness. 

If you use BioInteractive resources as part of your courses, we want to hear from you! Email us at outreach@hhmi.org with questions or tips about using our resources with your classes.