Understanding Parents' Needs in Supporting Children's Learning in Data Science

• In Event: 77.046 - Supporting Parents' Engagement in Young Children's STEM Learning

Abstract

The rapid growth of technology has changed our modern lives. Children nowadays are exposed to vast and ever-changing products of data analytics. Data science, therefore, has become a vital subject in STEM education, with a growing need to prepare students to face challenges inherent in future careers and critically evaluate evidence in their daily lives.

However, the opportunities for children to learn about data science remain limited. Data science is often taught through abstract and decontextualized mathematical procedures and formulas (Makar & Rubin, 2009), and children are seldom given support in connecting data concepts with their life experiences outside of classrooms—understanding how data can help reasoning, inform critical thinking, and guide decision making in daily activities. Specifically, little is known about how parents may support children in learning about data science in informal settings, rather than classrooms, and what their challenges may be.

To address these issues, we created a multi-week data science program for young children (5-8 years old, n = 12, 58% female) and their families (n = 7) at a science center. The program consisted seven consecutive weekly hands-on workshops which introduced families to the data cycle—the process of asking questions, collecting data, analyzing data, and visualizing and interpreting data. Most families were from the museum’s local community and many were first generation immigrants who spoke little or no English. We specifically focused on three research questions: (1) how children use and understand data concepts in the workshops, (2) how parents support their children in learning data science; and (3) what are the needed resources for the parents to support their children’s learning in data science.

The data collected included audio and video recordings, artifacts, field notes, and interviews. Audio and video recordings were translated, transcribed, and coded line-by-line. Using an inductive approach, the preliminary results indicated that children naturally merged their everyday experiences with their exploration of topics in each workshop to inform their decision-making throughout the program. The results also showed that parent-child interactions were often complex and dynamic; parents and children often helped each other by translating or providing information and asking questions. Some parents also had difficulty understanding the content and needed support from our staff and educators. Overall, parents recognized data science as an important subject and believed the program provided a meaningful learning experience for their children. We are in the process of coding children’s conceptual understanding of data concepts using data modeling framework (English, 2012). The results of that analysis will be shared in the final paper.

As data science has become increasingly vital for children and their families, this study highlighted how parental supports can enhance and enrich young children’s learning experiences with data concepts in educational settings beyond classrooms. The results also suggest that parents may need additional resources and preparation to be able to support their children’s learning about this complex topic.

Authors

• ChangChia James Liu, New York Hall of Science

• Susan M. Letourneau, New York Hall of Science