Workshop on Data Science for Good in Education

This workshop aims to serve the national interest by improving the preparation and engagement of educators with an emphasis on the inclusion of practical social good projects within data science education. Extensive research indicates that students with an opportunity to engage in projects and assignments that promote or explore meaningful social impacts are retained better and achieve higher classroom performance. This project seeks to embed such social impact projects as a central component of how data science education is conducted across the country. By focusing on the new, and quickly evolving, discipline of data science the project seeks to prevent many of the pitfalls that have occurred in other STEM disciplines in terms of diversity of participation and student success. This workshop specifically targets building the community of educators by creating a network for their continued professional development. That professional development includes improving their active classroom teaching skills as relevant to both Data Science and supporting student projects. The primary goal of this workshop is to build a community centered around the deep integration of data science for social good in their teaching practices. The morning sessions will feature a keynote speaker and engage the community in defining how academic institutions and educators can best engage data for good. Together participants will work to understand how to further embed this work across institutions and practice. The afternoon sessions will focus on participant’s individual skills, expertise, and networks to support their own pedagogical and practical work. A panel discussion of how to engage experts from other disciplines will be followed by two hands-on sessions to develop how-to guides for more effectively sourcing and supporting social good projects. The workshop will close with a reception and poster-session for participants to network and see what others have been doing within the realm of data for good. As part of the entire day, sessions will be recorded for posting on the Academic Data Science Alliance’s YouTube channel. Contributed posters, session notes and other documentation will be archived and shared. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities. 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.