Data Literacy & Visualization: Improving STEM Education Through Service Learning at Two Institutions

Betty Love Co-Author
University of Nebraska-Omaha
 
Michelle Friend Co-Author
University of Nebraska-Omaha
 
Becky Brusky Co-Author
University of Nebraska-Omaha
 
Julie Dierberger Co-Author
University of Nebraska-Omaha
 
Zaher Kmail First Author
University of Washington-Tacoma
 
Zaher Kmail Presenting Author
University of Washington-Tacoma
 
Tuesday, Aug 6: 9:10 AM - 9:15 AM
3699 
Contributed Speed 
Oregon Convention Center 
In Fall 2020, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) successfully introduced a general education quantitative literacy course fusing workforce-critical data science skills with service learning. Seeking to build on UNO's existing success, the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) is creating their own version of the course for Spring 2024, with researchers collaborating to revise, implement, and assess it in both environments. At UNO, the proposed model contributed to increased data literacy among participants from a broad variety of majors by helping them develop fundamental mathematical, quantitative, and data literacy competencies in ways that are accessible and engaging, while increasing the capacity of local non-profit organizations to use data to answer meaningful questions to further their missions. We predict similar outcomes for UWT and its community, where we expect to find an increase in positive perceptions of mathematics and data science, particularly for non-STEM affiliated students who typically have lower interest and self-efficacy in mathematics and are often from groups underrepresented in STEM. Analysis of data collected at both institutions will be presented.

Keywords

service learning

data literacy

community engagement

high impact practices

underrepresentation in STEM

data visualization and presentation 

Main Sponsor

Section on Statistics and Data Science Education