The biodiversity sciences have experienced a rapid mobilization of data that has increased our capacity to investigate large-scale issues of critical importance in the 21st century (e.g., climate change and its impacts, zoonotic disease transmission, sustainable resource management, impacts of invasive species, and biodiversity loss). Several initiatives are underway to aggregate and mobilize these biodiversity, environmental, and ecological data resources (iDigBio, NEON, GBIF, iNaturalist, etc.). This requires a new set of skills for the 21st century biodiversity scientist, who is required to be fluent in integrative fields spanning evolutionary biology, systematics, ecology, geology, and environmental science and possess the quantitative, computational, and data skills to conduct research using large and complex datasets. The NSF-funded Biodiversity Literacy in Undergraduate Education Network (BLUE; biodiversityliteracy.com) has focused efforts on developing and disseminating exemplar educational materials, defining core biodiversity data literacy skills and competencies, and extending the network to engage with communities of scientists advancing similar initiatives. The BLUE Network modules align well with the 4DEE Framework and there is a natural synergy among the groups as we look to teaching biodiversity literacy and data skills within the ecology curricula.
Results/Conclusions
In this presentation we will introduce unique and engaging data emerging from natural history collections and specific examples of how these data are being used to teach emerging data literacy competencies and core content, themes, and skills referenced in the Next Generation Science Standards, AAAS Vision and Change document, and the 4DEE Framework. We will provide specific examples of how the BLUE Data Network is working to define core data literacy skills, create inclusive resources, develop and disseminate curricular materials, and facilitate on-going opportunities to integrate collections-based data in the classroom. We will share results from a recent survey to develop community consensus on core data literacy needs on biodiversity science and showcase new resources and a course based undergraduate research exercise for undergraduates that provide opportunities for students to directly engage with digital data resources, facilitate data discovery and exploration, and create inclusive and culturally relevant research experiences. We will directly address how digital biodiversity data resources, alongside the 4DEE Framework, can be used to improve ecological education across the undergraduate curriculum.