Data Science for All: Designing the Successful Inclusion of Data Science in High School Computer Science

New York Hall Of Science, Corona NY

Investigators

Abstract

The New York Hall of Science, in collaboration with the Columbia University Data Science Institute/Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub and the San Diego Supercomputer Center/West Big Data Innovation Hub, will run a workshop exploring the potential for including authentic data science curricula and hands-on projects in high school Computer Science (CS) courses. While there has been great progress in bringing computer science to all learners through the national CSforAll movement, attempts to introduce data science as part of that effort have not yet been successful. These attempts have been limited by a lack of robust curricula, resources, and teacher training and - perhaps more importantly - by a lack of accessible tools and data sources. This workshop brings together stakeholders to consider the extent to which these limitations either no longer exist or can be overcome in order to answer the question: Is data science ready for K-12? The 2-day in-person workshop will address the state of data science in high schools, focusing on the needs of students and teachers. Participants will include high school students and their teachers, CSforAll project developers, database and data science tool developers, practicing data scientists and specialists in learning sciences, assessment and evaluation, along with stakeholders from academia, industry, and state/local government. The workshop will: -- discuss impediments to the inclusion of data science and its applications in CS education at the high school level; -- provide presentations and demonstrations prepared by tool, database and software developers, practicing data scientists, and learning researchers to describe validated practices; and -- host a collaborative brainstorming session to identify appropriate data science learning resources, tools and data sets, and a draft roadmap for their application. The result will be reported in a white paper that articulates a path forward. The paper will be made available on the Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub data literacy website, and will form the basis for deployment recommendations and a trajectory for infusing data science into computer science at the high school level, and ultimately throughout formal education in the United States. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.