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  • Learning designs that empower: navigating sandbox data science at the intersection of computing, big data and social media
Title: Learning designs that empower: navigating sandbox data science at the intersection of computing, big data and social media
PurposeThere is a need for precollege learning designs that empower youth to be epistemic agents in contexts that intersect burgeoning areas of computing, big data and social media. The purpose of this study is to explore how “sandbox” or open-inquiry data science with social media supports learning. Design/methodology/approachThis paper offers vignettes from an illustrative youth study case that highlights the pedagogical prospects and obstacles tied to designing for open-ended inquiry with computational data science to access or “scrape” Twitter/X. The youth case showcases how social media can be taken up productively and in ways that facilitate epistemological agency, an approach where individuals actively shape understanding and knowledge-creation processes, highlighting the potentially transformative impact this approach might have in empowering learners to engage productively. FindingsThe authors identify three key affordances for learning that emerged from the illustrative case: (1) flexible opportunities for content-specific domain mastery, (2) situated inquiry that embodies next-generation science practices and (3) embedded computational skill development. The authors discuss these findings in relation to contemporary education needs to broaden participation in data science and computing. Originality/valueTo address challenges in current data science education associated with supporting sustained and productive engagement in computing-based data science, the authors leverage a “sandbox” approach – an original pedagogical framework to support open inquiry with precollege groups. The authors demonstrate how “big data” drawn from social media with high school-aged youth supports learning designs and outcomes by emphasizing learner interests and authentic practice.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2137708
PAR ID:
10572698
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Emerald Publishing Limited
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Information and Learning Sciences
Volume:
125
Issue:
10
ISSN:
2398-5348
Page Range / eLocation ID:
794 to 812
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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