Introducing the Second Tuva Science Collection — Atmosphere

“Have lights when other men are blind

As pigs are said to see the wind”

Aside from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s claim (paraphrasing William Butler), of all Earth systems, the atmosphere can be one of the hardest for (non- pig) students to perceive.

Although we breathe in atmosphere every minute, its chemistry, layers, air masses, and patterns of movement occur at large scales and are often invisible.

We can feel the wind, but how can we discern its large-scale geographical and temporal patterns? Through data, of course!

Following up from the release of our first Tuva Science Collection on Earth in Space,  today we are excited to introduce Tuva’s second science collection – Atmosphere.

Typhoon Halong Seen from the International Space Station
Typhoon Halong Seen from the International Space Station

The Atmosphere Collection includes datasets and activities that explore differences among vertical layers in the atmosphere, geographic variability in atmospheric pollutants, and temporal changes in components of the atmosphere such as the stratospheric ozone layer.

Some of the activities also explore weather and climate data to make sense of how air masses move.

Key ideas supported by datasets and activities in Tuva’s Atmosphere Collection include:

  • The size of the Antarctic ozone hole changes seasonally and is correlated with atmospheric concentrations of CFCs.
  • Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and other pollutants have increased during recent decades, as has human population.
  • Relationships between different atmospheric parameters can be modeled and predicted mathematically.
  • Air masses can transport pollutants from source areas to distant non-source areas.  
  • Human actions to mitigate air pollution can improve air quality.

The activities support NGSS performance expectations, such as exploring evidence for how motions and interactions of air masses result in changes in weather conditions (MS-ESS2-5), or analyzing geoscience data to forecast of the rate of change in the ozone hole (HS-ESS3-5).

These activities also support a number of CCSS-Math standards such as modeling relationships with linear equations.

Don’t forget to give your students opportunity to explore data on their own to make their own discoveries. Help your students learn to “see the wind” — through data!

The Earth in Space and Atmosphere collections are available for Tuva Premium Subscribers.

Introducing the first Tuva Science Collection — Earth in Space

earth-rising

Here a star, and there a star,

Some lose their way.

Here a mist, and there a mist,

Afterwards — day!

Few have conveyed the beauty of dawn with more inspiration than Emily Dickinson. As teachers of Earth science, we aspire to convey to students appreciation and understanding of what it means to be a planet moving through space and how our position and movement in space predictably affects our everyday experience of, well — day!

The magnitude of spatial and temporal scale differences covered by the topic of “Earth in Space” makes it challenging to find datasets about stars, planets, Sun and Moon, orbits,  seasons, tides, and day-lengths that are of a scope that students can explore to find meaning and discover patterns and relationships.

At Tuva, we are gathering datasets into collections by topic to help you quickly find data and activities that support a unit you are teaching. Our first Tuva Science Collection is Earth in Space.

Tuva’s Earth in Space collection provides opportunities for students to analyze and interpret data and model systems (see NGSS ESS1.A and ESS1.B) to support understanding of key ideas such as:

  • Stars range in size, type, and distance from our Solar System.
  • Planets have different properties (density, gravitational pull, orbital period, temperature…)
  • Seasons occur at opposite times of year in northern and southern hemispheres.
  • The timing of tide cycles can be explained (and predicted) by the phase (and position) of the Moon.
  • How much day length changes through the year depends on latitude.

Each dataset has at least one activity, and you can add or adapt activities to fit your teaching goals.

Help your students discover and appreciate the music of the spheres — through data!

We will be adding many other science collections in coming weeks and months.  If there is a collection you are especially interested in, please let us know via Tuva Support or share with the community on Tuva Discussions.

Introducing Tuva Collections

At Tuva, our goal is to make data accessible and usable for data novices and learners, enabling them to learn and master foundational data, statistics, and analytical concepts and skills.

The Open Data Movement has catalyzed something incredibly powerful – free, open access to millions of datasets from a vast number of organizations such as the World Bank, NIH, NASA, CDC, NOAA, FDA, Census Bureau, Department of Education, Department of Energy, and many many others. 

We believe that these open datasets can serve a powerfully unique purpose. These datasets can be transformed into opportunities for deep inquiry, exploration, and learning. They enable educators to teach and students to learn critical data exploration, visualization, analysis, and interpretation, as they dig deeper into topics aligned to their curricula and standards, their interests, or their day-to-day work.  

To continue to realize on our vision, we are excited to formally announce the launch of Tuva Collections! 

What is a Tuva Collection?

A collection is a group of ready-to-use datasets, activities, and lessons around a specific content area (such as Linear Models) or topic (such as Social Justice). 

How many collections are on Tuva?

Currently, we have 4 Tuva Collections (and plenty more in the works!). They are:

1. Signs of Change – Discovering events and phenomena in US History using US Census Microdata

2. The Model Shop –  Using data to learn about Linear Models

3. Civic Literacy Through Data – Explore social issues including gender equality, gender identity, immigration, and racial justice in the United States through the lens of data

4. Employment in NYC – Exploring Employment in NYC through the lens of the 5 Boroughs, Race, Educational Attainment, Gender, and many other factors

Are you open to collaborations to create a new Tuva Collection?

Yes – we have many more Tuva Collections in the works so please stay tuned! 

We are already working with organizations such as Democracy Prep Public Schools and NYC Department of Education to design and produce our Tuva Collections. 

If you are interested in collaborating with us to create a Tuva Collection, please reach out to us at hello@tuvalabs.com

Introducing Signs of Change – Discovering Events & Phenomenon in US History Through Census Data

Today, we are excited to launch a brand new content Initiative called Signs of Change on Tuva. The overarching goal of this initiative is simple, yet incredibly powerful. 

We want to empower learners to discover events and phenomenon in US History – events such as the Civil War, the Great Migration, the Rise of Women in the Workforce, the Baby Boom, and many others – by enabling them to explore, visualize, and analyze US Census Data from 1850 – 2000. 

image


The US Census 

It’s worth to take a side journey and learn a little bit about the US Census. The US Census is a decennial census, and is mandated by Article 1, Section of our Constitution. 

The first Census after the American Revolution was conducted in 1790 (under then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson), but the 1850 Census was the landmark census in that it was the first time the Census Bureau attempted to record every member of every household, including women, children, and slaves. To note, the population of the US in the 1850 Census was 23.1 million. 

The last Census took place in 2010, and it was the first time the US population exceeded 300 million!  

A Dance Between History & Mathematics 

The Signs of Change Initiative is a unique opportunity to connect history and mathematics for learners, enabling them to use foundational mathematics and statistics concepts to topics they are learning in their history class.  

For this initiative, we plan to curate a variety of datasets from the US Census Microdata from 1850 – 2000 over the coming weeks. In addition, we will make available sample activities and lessons around these datasets that you can use immediately, or that you can modify to make them appropriate for the needs of your students.  

Extending this Approach Beyond US Census

We strongly believe that this approach can be adopted well beyond just the US Census. The Census is a powerful instrument that countries around the world use to acquire and record information about their own citizens.

For all our educators outside the US – if you are interested in bringing this kind of an initiative with the Census data from your country, please submit your thoughts in Discussions or write to us directly.  

Attribution 

The initiative has been adapted from an actual book called Signs of Change, originally compiled and edited by Dr.Tim Erickson. The book stems from a collection of statistics projects his students conducted at Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco, CA in Fall 2011. 

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr.Tim Erickson and all the students who participated in the original project.