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There is a critical need for research-based active learning instructional materials for the teaching and learning of STEM in online courses. Every year, hundreds of thousands of undergraduate non-science majors enroll in general education astronomy courses to fulfill their institution’s liberal arts requirements. When designing instructional materials for this population of learners, a central focus must be to help learners become more scientifically and data literate. As such, we developed a new, three-part, curricular model that was used to inform the creation of active-learning instructional materials designed for use in online courses. The instructional materials were designed to help introductory astronomy students engage meaningfully with science while simultaneously improving their data literacy self-efficacy (especially as it pertained to making evidence-based conclusions when presented with a variety of data representations). We conducted a pilot study of these instructional materials at nine different colleges and universities to better understand whether students’ engagement with these materials lead to improved beliefs and self-efficacy. The results of our student survey analysis showed statistically significant changes on survey items that assessed students’ beliefs about science engagement, citizen science, and their data literacy skills. Additionally, we assessed whether faculty who implemented these materials were able to easily incorporate them into existing online astronomy courses. The instructor feedback emphasized that our curriculum development model did successfully inform the creation of easy-to-implement instructional materials, generating the potential for widespread dissemination and use at the undergraduate level.
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This content will become publicly available on November 6, 2025
Evaluation of Data Literacy Frameworks and a Self-Data Curriculum for High School Students
With the emergence of self-tracking devices that collect and produce real-time personal data, it is becoming increasingly necessary to innovate data literacy frameworks and student curricula to address new competencies in data handling, visualization, and use. We examine the evolution of data literacy frameworks across the past 7 years, specifically focusing on the inclusion of self-data competencies. We analyzed existing data literacy frameworks to identify common phases of data engagement. A scoping review of published data literacy frameworks was conducted, and 23 studies were included for analysis. Results from this scoping review demonstrate the existence of at least eight sequential phases of data engagement to develop data literacy. Two of these phases address personal or self-data competencies. We then describe a curriculum that addresses these eight phases of data engagement by pairing biometric devices with online tools and educational materials to scaffold self-data knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Based on this, we conclude with the need to propose holistic data literacy education programmes, considering the curriculum as a model to guide similar materials aimed at fostering emerging data competencies.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2241751
- PAR ID:
- 10604046
- Publisher / Repository:
- IEEE
- Date Published:
- ISBN:
- 979-8-3315-1663-5
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 7
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Paris, France
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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