skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Scaffolding Middle School Students’ Engagements with Historical Data Visualizations
We designed and implemented a data visualization project in a seventh-grade classroom focusing on the loss of tribal lands in Montana, United States of America. We aim to understand how students engaged with various scaffolds and how those scaffolds supported them in critically engaging with historical data through making hands-on projects. We analyzed data from multiple sources, including classroom implementation transcripts, student-created artifacts, and pre- and post-surveys. We observed that while students enjoyed creating data visualizations, they struggled to interpret them within their historical context despite the provision of multiple forms of scaffolds. We believe it is important to design a system of scaffolds to further support students in critically engaging with historical data and in developing critical data literacy.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2031279
PAR ID:
10536871
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Editor(s):
Lindgren, R; Asino, T I; Kyza, E A; Looi, C K; Keifert, D T; Suárez, E
Publisher / Repository:
International Society of the Learning Sciences
Date Published:
Page Range / eLocation ID:
498-505
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; (, ACM)
    NA (Ed.)
    Abstract Music and computer science (CS) have profound historical and structural connections, with programming music offering a promising avenue for engaging children in CS through creative expression. To foster this engagement, our team developed M-Flow, a flow-based music programming platform designed to introduce students to CS via music. Despite extensive existing research in music and CS education, experience reports and empirical studies on K-12 teachers' implementation and its impact on young kids' learning are limited. Therefore, we recruit elementary school teachers and students with no or limited prior programming experience, introducing them to M-Flow and its curriculum through a professional development workshop, a semester's job embedded support, and classroom implementation. We describe the experiences of teachers as they attempt to integrate music and CS, the challenges they face, and the influence on students' attitudes toward learning computing concepts. Specifically, we reflect on our intervention by conducting a sequential mixed-method evaluation. During the qualitative phase, we collected multiple sources of data from three teachers through focus groups and debriefings after a semester of classroom implementation. Thematic analysis of workshop activities, interviews, and debrief videos revealed three themes with seven sub-themes on teachers' integration of flow-based music programming and two themes with five sub-themes on challenges faced by the teachers. In the quantitative phase, we gathered data on attitudes and self-efficacy from 75 students taught by these teachers. Results indicate that the flow-based music programming environment provided an engaging programming experience for students and significantly increased their self-efficacy towards learning programming. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; (, ISLS)
    Hoadley, C; Wang, C (Ed.)
    While there is widespread interest in supporting young people to critically evaluate machine learning-powered systems, there is little research on how we can support them in inquiring about how these systems work and what their limitations and implications may be. Outside of K-12 education, an effective strategy in evaluating black-boxed systems is algorithm auditing—a method for understanding algorithmic systems’ opaque inner workings and external impacts from the outside in. In this paper, we review how expert researchers conduct algorithm audits and how end users engage in auditing practices to propose five steps that, when incorporated into learning activities, can support young people in auditing algorithms. We present a case study of a team of teenagers engaging with each step during an out-of-school workshop in which they audited peer-designed generative AI TikTok filters. We discuss the kind of scaffolds we provided to support youth in algorithm auditing and directions and challenges for integrating algorithm auditing into classroom activities. This paper contributes: (a) a conceptualization of five steps to scaffold algorithm auditing learning activities, and (b) examples of how youth engaged with each step during our pilot study. 
    more » « less
  3. (, Perspectives on undergraduate research and mentoring)
    Engaging students in teaching and learning science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is critically important in an era of social and economic change (such as the graying workforce in the US) and an increased need for skilled workers, which has led to a “radical opening” to work collectively to engage students and help them grow into leaders (Myers & Berkowicz, 2015, p. 7). As Hall et al. (2020) noted, high-quality mentoring that focuses on clear expectations, building a sense of community, one-to-one mentoring, and acquisition of mentoring skills can result in a salient experience for both the students and faculty involved. As a collaborative team spanning both the STEM sciences and educational teaching and leadership domains, we share experiences of navigating a pandemic, creating new pathways for collaboration, and seeking to engage students at both the university undergraduate as well as K-8 levels. In this article, we provide insights on both the design of the collaborative effort as well as how we benefited from the “radical opening” that presented itself in the form of a funded National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) grant called “An interdisciplinary approach to the marine sciences for first-year students”. Our project and related findings are particularly relevant to both the STEM and the educational fields because they offer a pathway to better engaging learners – and their supporting faculty – at both the university and school settings. We offer multiple perspectives and strategies across institutions and disciplines in the context of historical change and challenge. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; (, Earth Science, Systems and Society)
    The geosciences continue to grapple with the exclusion of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other students of Color. These patterns can be understood in the discipline’s roots in colonialism and extractivism. Furthermore, training of the scientific process as objective and race-neutral results in scientists who do not recognize how science can perpetuate inequities in society. Using a U.S. university biogeography course as a case study, we describe an innovative framework for teaching equity through a critical historical lens that interrogates: 1) biases in the processes and forms of knowledge production, legitimization, and exclusion; 2) the source of inequities in representation in the discipline; and 3) how societal benefits and harms of scientific practices are felt disproportionately demographically and geographically. Students were encouraged to critically analyze the historical context of scientific theories and their proponents and challenge assumptions about the representativeness of data supporting those theories into the present day. Engaging with these questions broadened students’ understanding of changing paradigms in the field and of links between colonialism and modern science. We provide recommendations for instructors seeking to use similar approaches to enhance student learning. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; (, Interaction Design for Children)
    null (Ed.)
    With children spending more time online, personal data are stored on their devices making them susceptible to online risks. Exposing students to cybersecurity education at an early age is critical for raising awareness and knowledge. Yet access to cybersecurity education curricular materials that are engaging for young students is limited. In this work, we present interactive cybersecurity stories for students in grades 3-5 delivered through a commercial social robot. Through focus groups and interviews we subsequently investigated teachers’ views on using a social robot for cybersecurity education, interest in incorporating social robots in the classroom, and perceptions of the ways in which social robots can impact teaching practice and student learning. Findings indicated that teachers found the social robot engaging and expressed interest in using it in their classroom despite some concerns. Findings have implications for the design and implementation of cybersecurity curricula delivered through emerging technologies. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email