Conference: Advancing Data Science Education in Two-year Colleges

American Mathematical Association Of Two-Year College, Memphis TN

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by providing faculty from two-year colleges with the technical and pedagogical skills needed to teach content relevant to an associate degree in data science. It addresses needs identified by participants in the Year 1 Workshop in two key areas: developing instructors' proficiency with data science tools and offering professional development in teaching data science courses. As data science continues to emerge as a critical field, many two-year college instructors lack experience with commonly used tools and require training in effective pedagogical practices tailored to data science curricula. To meet these needs, the project offers participants opportunities to strengthen their skills in widely adopted data science technologies and to explore best practices for teaching data science in two-year college settings. Ultimately, the project aims to expand the availability of transfer-oriented data science degree programs at two-year colleges, addressing a significant gap in the current educational landscape. This project has four overarching goals for participants: (1) develop technical skills to teach data science courses, including introductory programming languages and data visualization tools; (2) advance pedagogical strategies for effective data science instruction; (3) explore resources for continued technical skill development beyond the workshop; and (4) strengthen the community of practice supporting data science program development. To accomplish these goals, participants engage in two four-hour workshops focused on two to three data science technologies such as R, Tableau, and GitHub. They also take part in 90-minute sessions on pedagogical topics, including implementing projects and authentic assessment in data science courses, designing effective capstone projects, and teaching ethics within the data science curriculum. The impact of the workshop is assessed through a series of participant surveys, with findings summarized in a published report. A community of practice facilitates further dissemination beyond the initial participant group and provides ongoing support as participants apply workshop content at their home institutions. Through these experiences, instructors gain the tools and confidence needed to build robust data science programs at two-year colleges, fostering smoother transfer pathways into four-year degree programs. The NSF IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC) Program seeks to accelerate and advance knowledge about the impact of emerging and evidence-based practices in undergraduate STEM education at two-year colleges. 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.