Today’s students encounter scientific claims far beyond the walls of their science classrooms. A quick scroll through TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube can surface countless posts that appear to use real data and evidence to support claims about everything from energy drinks that boost athletic performance to arguments that climate change isn’t real. These posts often feature charts, statistics, and even “experts,” giving them the appearance of legitimate science. Typically, the realm of the science classroom has focused on helping students analyze and interpret clean, ready-made data from which they construct explanations and engage in argumentation — and these practices remain central to the scientific enterprise. However, for students to become critical consumers of scientific information in their daily lives, science classrooms must also prepare them to evaluate evidence-based claims they encounter in a broader media landscape that does not always follow the rules of science. This need is becoming increasingly urgent as misinformation about science continues to spread.
To help address this challenge, NCSE developed the DataWISE tool, which integrates research from data literacy, media literacy, and science education to help students critically evaluate data-based claims they encounter “in the wild.” NCSE has been sharing DataWISE with teachers across the country and recently had the opportunity to present the framework to science education leaders at the National Academies’ CASTL K–12 Annual Meeting.
As a core member of the National Academies Collaborative for Advancing Science Teaching and Learning in K–12 (CASTL-K12), the NCSE Science Education and Outreach (SEO) team recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the collaborative’s annual meeting February 3-4, 2026. CASTL-K12 brings together a diverse group of cross-sector organizations, including educational nonprofits, state education leaders, researchers, and curriculum developers, to develop and share evidence-based actions that support equitable implementation of state science standards.
This year’s meeting, titled“Envisioning an Intentional Future: Leveraging Emerging Technologies for Framework-Aligned Science Education,” was held at the historic National Academy of Sciences building. The goal was to strengthen member relationships, engage with emerging research from the Academy’s Board on Science Education, and explore how evolving technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and data science, may shape the future of science teaching and learning. Over the course of two days, the SEO team and other members explored related research and projects and discussed potential strategies, policies, and research directions connected to these themes.
NCSE was invited to lead a Member Spotlight session, providing an opportunity to share the DataWISE classroom tool with CASTL-K12 core members and other participants. NCSE science specialists Wendy Johnson and Britt Miller introduced the DataWISE framework and led an interactive presentation on how DataWISE supports teachers and students in evaluating evidence-based claims in the media, particularly in the context of widespread scientific misinformation. During the session, attendees explored how DataWISE guides students through four key considerations when encountering data-based claims: whether the claim is Worthy of attention, how to Inspect the data, whether interpretations make Sense, and how the presentation of evidence may influence Emotions. Participants also examined NCSE’s free, classroom-ready DataWISE resources and discussed how the framework could be applied in a variety of instructional settings and subject areas.
During the presentation, NCSE also shared insights and feedback gathered from partner teachers participating in DataWISE classroom field-tests. Partner teachers have continually emphasized the value of the tool within their classrooms while also providing suggestions for improvements, such as having options for how the tools appear to students, such as a more simplified version and noting specific topics and approaches where the framework could be especially valuable for students. These insights are helping NCSE refine the tool to better meet teachers and students where they are and ensure the resources remain practical and adaptable for real classrooms.
The session generated significant interest among CASTL-K12 partners, many of whom expressed enthusiasm for expanding the reach of DataWISE to support teachers and students across additional classrooms, districts, and states. NCSE’s continued participation in the CASTL-K12 collaborative (read more about earlier work with CASTL-K12 here) reflects its commitment to working alongside national leaders in science education to strengthen evidence-based instruction and equip teachers with tools to address the growing challenge of scientific misinformation.
