Did the Computer Get It Right? Students Analyzing and Challenging Data Visualizations in ELA Class

• In Event: Teaching Practices and the Learning Sciences

Abstract

Text visualizations, such as word clouds, ngrams, and sentiment analysis charts, are a growing resource for textual analysis and interpretation. As readers encounter more data visualizations, they must learn not only how to interpret these visualizations but how to question the potential biases on which the visualizations might depend. We drew on Data Feminism (D’Ignazio and Klein, 2020), which challenges a default acceptance of data and encourages elevating emotion and embodiment in data work. In this proposal, we share a study of one teacher, Melissa, who used a sentiment analysis visualization to help her students explore a dramatic adaptation of A Christmas Carol. We then explore how students responded to Melissa’s critical question: “Did the computer get it right?”

Authors

• Victor R. Lee, Stanford University

• Nichole Nomura, University of Wyoming

• Daniela Gamboa Zapatel, Stanford University

• Georgii Korotkov, Stanford University

• Sarah Levine, Stanford University