PME-NA

Grounded Relevance: How Exploring Soil Data Can Promote Data Literacy, Learning, and Motivation

• In Event: Promoting Student Learning about Data and Statistics

Description

The ability to analyze, interpret, and draw insights from data and data visualizations is quickly becoming a necessary skill for success across multiple disciplines and careers. However, people struggle to make meaning from data, and traditional data-science curriculum falls short of emphasizing its relevance to underrepresented students. To create opportunities for meaningful applications of data-science for diverse students, we developed and implemented an online learning module focused on engaging N = 298 undergraduate students at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in an analysis of place-based soil data. Using a pretest posttest study design, we found that student’s perceptions of data-science relevance microbiology knowledge improved. We also inductively coded qualitative survey responses and used automated text analysis to explore how students framed “relevance” and how perceptions changed from pretest-to-posttest.

Authors

• Ian Thacker, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Rebecca Schroeder, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Sara Shields-Menard, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Corina Lopez, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Sandrina Ramirez, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Tanvir Alam, University of Texas at San Antonio