From Personal Data to Global Insights: Data Practices in Grand Challenges-Themed Science Classes

Global issues such as climate change, the water crisis, and food security require data-driven insights to understand their complexities, explore the trends, and develop evidence-based solutions. By engaging students in meaningful data practices, a science curriculum contextualized in these global issues equips students with essential skills to understand and navigate their complexities. This article introduces key design principles for integrating data practices into a curriculum contextualized in these global issues, including incorporating personal, local, and global data, addressing social justice dimensions through data, fostering coherence and relevance in data practices across lessons, and supporting students in interpreting and reasoning with multiple datasets. The article presents three sample activities from the curriculum, demonstrating how the design principles are operationalized in the instruction. These activities emphasize the importance of contextualized data practices in science education, demonstrating how an issue-based curriculum enhances students’ data analysis and reasoning skills while deepening their understanding of complex issues.