Life Sciences Datasets: Educational Resources

AIM-UP! is an NSF-funded Research Coordination Network for the funding period of May 2010 to April 2015. It explores the use of natural history collections in undergraduate education.

Data activities and other teaching materials by topic (including earth and environmental science, ecology, evolution, and genetics).

The BEN portal, the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Pathway for biological sciences education, provides access to education resources from BEN Collaborators and is managed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Resources for biodiversity literacy, hosted by QUBES

BCEENet's goal is to create a community of undergraduate educators, natural history curators, education experts, and data experts who will explore how ecology and evolutionary biology Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) can mine the hundreds of millions of natural history collection data records served on web-based data portals.

CourseSource is an open-access journal of peer-reviewed teaching resources for undergraduate biological sciences.

Data Carpentry trains researchers in the core data skills for efficient, shareable, and reproducible research practices. We run accessible, inclusive training workshops; teach openly available, high-quality, domain-tailored lessons; and foster an active, inclusive, diverse instructor community that promotes and models reproducible research as a community norm.

The Data Information Literacy (DIL) Case Studies Directory serves as a repository of materials used to teach students competencies in working with, managing, sharing and curating their research data. Each of the DIL case studies includes a description of the educational program and any accompanying supporting materials such as syllabi, lesson plans, rubrics, exercises or other learning objects.

Data Nuggets are free classroom activities, co-designed by scientists and teachers. When using Data Nuggets students are provided with the details of authentic science research projects, and then get to work through an activity that gives them practice looking for patterns and developing explanations about natural phenomena using the scientific data from the study.

Links to slides on data management and planning, data sharing, data entry and manipulation, data quality control and assurance, data security, metadata, data citation, data analysis and workflows, and legal and policy issues related to data from DataONE.

The Data Management Training (DMT) Clearinghouse is a registry for online learning resources focusing on research data management. It was created in a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey's Community for Data Integration, the Earth Sciences Information Partnership (ESIP), and DataONE.

ESA's EcoEd Digital Library (EcoEdDL) is a forum for scientists and educators to locate and contribute peer reviewed resources for 21st century undergraduate ecology education.

A framework for eco-literacy that provides basic comprehension of necessary ecological terminology and concepts to improve informed public policy and other ecological problem-solving decisions.

Available via QUBES, these modules use ecological data sets collected at the population, community, and landscape scales, to help prepare students for the challenges of working with larger data sets.

From the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College (SERC), Project EDDIE provides flexible classroom modules that aim to expose undergraduate students to real-world experiences using sensor-collected, high-frequency and long-term datasets to study geological and environmental processes.

ESIIL is committed to building a diverse community of Earth and Environmental Data Science (EDS) educators. Our Data Short Course, launching Spring 2024, is the first in a series of 4 courses that will introduce EDS educators and leaders to fundamental EDS education tools.

The ESIIL Stars Program, funded by NSF, is an annual program that builds environmental data science skills and trains the next generation of data-capable workers.

From the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, The Help Desk provides how-to guides for the biological and biomedical research community to help them navigate and adopt data sharing policies and practices. Here you can find useful information and self-help guides in our Knowledge Base, or you can send us your questions and receive an answer from a subject matter expert.

Rebecca Milholland, University of Arizona, Department of Pharmacology/Toxicology

A framework in which to deliver a set of complementary training opportunities to those eager to excel at the creation of digital information about Earth’s biota, especially as documented in biodiversity collections.

Open educational resources including courses, case studies, learning objects, and more.

Many open biology courses available at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

A variety of teaching activities and materials from the NAGT, as well as teaching activities which have been contributed by faculty authors through a variety of NAGT-sponsored projects and across the spectrum of the Earth and Environmental Sciences.

A knowledge-sharing community where environmental researchers can learn the latest data science skills and technologies, enabling their science to inform solutions more quickly and effectively. Trainings in synthesis and open science tools and methods build capacity among data-oriented researchers in academic institutions, government agencies, and NGOs and from all stages of their careers. Covers techniques and best practices for collaborative data science across a wide range of programming languages and skill levels.

Observing phenology through Nature's Notebook offers place-based, hands-on learning opportunities provides a collaborative platform for site-based educators, promotes cross-subject engagement while addressing standards of learning, and can be used to identify and answer local scientific research questions addressed by many natural resources, volunteer, and gardening groups.

Provides training and resources to increase data science capacity among information professionals, in alignment with the NLM strategic plan.

From the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), NNLM RD3: Resources for Data-Driven Discovery has been developed to foster learning and collaboration in data science.

NECDMC is an instructional tool for teaching data management best practices to undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers in the health sciences, sciences, and engineering disciplines.

Ocean Tracks aims to build a comprehensive, state-of-the-art educational tool that employs technology to reach broad student populations, while at the same time developing a concrete model for the field of how to bring data into the classroom in productive ways.

OER Commons is a public digital library of open educational resources, including full university courses, interactive mini-lessons and simulations, adaptations of existing open work, open textbooks, and K-12 lesson plans, worksheets, and activities.

Created in 2021 by Christopher Eaker (University of Tennessee Knoxville), contains modules for learning about open research concepts and skills including open access to research data and FAIR Data Principles.

QUBES provides logistical, intellectual, and community support for innovative quantitative biology education projects and the extended community of instructors seeking resources.

User-submitted teaching materials from the QUBES community.

Includes educational materials and curricula, training resources, and reference materials for research data management.

An online, text-based, interactive fiction game, designed to teach players how to manage data throughout a research project's lifecycle. Players can choose to play as an experimental researcher working in the natural sciences.

A collection of OERs from the Royal Society of Biology.

Open access resources for teaching evolution.

Software Carpentry trains researchers in basic lab skills for research computing through inclusive workshops.

WeDigBio provides a variety of documents, lesson plans, educational activities, classroom exercises, and multimedia for teaching students to work with biocollections data.