#800: Planners and Tinkerers: A Comparative Case Study of K-12 Students’ Engagement with Data Practices in an Ag-STEM

: In an increasingly data-saturated society, fostering K-12 students' data literacy is an important issue. This qualitative comparative case study addresses this need by examining how eighth-grade students develop data literacy within a 16-week, AI-supported data-driven scientific inquiry leveraging low-cost sensor devices in an Ag-STEM context. Drawing on the frameworks of conceptual and critical data literacy, the study analyzes the distinct pathways of two four-student and three-student groups. Data sources included project journals, data logs, AI interaction logs, and focus group interviews, which were analyzed through a multi-stage thematic and cross-case analysis. Findings reveal two archetypes, Pragmatic Planners and Messy Tinkerers, who followed distinct yet equally meaningful paths. Each group’s engagement was shaped by different forms of resistance, informational or physical, that transformed confusion into insight. The study suggests that educational designs that embrace productive struggle could support diverse students in developing a deeper understanding of the entire data-driven inquiry.