Supporting student investigations using authentic science data

Web interactive for classroom curriculum.

Client:

WGBH/Nova

Challenge

WGBH/NOVA approached us to build two web interactives to go with new NOVA television episodes on PBS. They were specifically looking for data-driven investigations. Both tools were created to accompany NOVA episodes commemorating the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s Origin of Species. One episode, ‘Becoming Human,’ explores human origins, and the other one, ‘What Darwin Never Knew,’ explores the emerging science of evolutionary developmental biology, also known as evo-devo.

Solution

We designed an activity in which students explored the challenges scientists face when classifying hominid fossils. Using a database of known hominid finds, students classify their own collection of 10 mystery fossils. They identify fossils by comparing their features to known fossils, and defend their classifications with peers. By using known facts about fossils to define species, they take part in the ongoing scientific debate around human origins.

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Some highlights from our solution:

Identified a data-driven activity. With the shortened timeline, one of the most difficult tasks was figuring out what kind of data was readily available and designing an activity around it. Data sets were simply not out there. We shelved many ideas because the data proved too difficult to obtain. Even our final idea of a hominid database using a few simple key features ended up being quite a challenge to put together.
Designed with physical anthropologist subject matter expert. We worked with a local physical anthropology expert who helped us stay true to the current state of the field, and provided invaluable access to fossil casts for our illustrations.
Re-constructed a database of significant fossil hominid finds. We developed a database of the most significant fossil hominids on record. While it’s not complete, it covers all of the major species currently known. It’s surprising that there aren’t any databases of this sort readily available to the public. Various organizations have bits and pieces published in a database form, but there aren’t any databases with a common data format.

Results

“Bones of Contention” teacher resources had been available on pbs.org for a number of years, but unfortunately the interactive has been taken down with the demise of Flash.