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PurposeThis study aims to explore how network visualization provides opportunities for learners to explore data literacy concepts using locally and personally relevant data. Design/methodology/approachThe researchers designed six locally relevant network visualization activities to support students’ data reasoning practices toward understanding aggregate patterns in data. Cultural historical activity theory (Engeström, 1999) guides the analysis to identify how network visualization activities mediate students’ emerging understanding of aggregate data sets. FindingsPre/posttest findings indicate that this implementation positively impacted students’ understanding of network visualization concepts, as they were able to identify and interpret key relationships from novel networks. Interaction analysis (Jordan and Henderson, 1995) of video data revealed nuances of how activities mediated students’ improved ability to interpret network data. Some challenges noted in other studies, such as students’ tendency to focus on familiar concepts, are also noted as teachers supported conversations to help students move beyond them. Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study the authors are aware of that supported elementary students in exploring data literacy through network visualization. The authors discuss how network visualizations and locally/personally meaningful data provide opportunities for learning data literacy concepts across the curriculum.
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This content will become publicly available on January 1, 2026
DPV (Domain, Purpose, Visual) Framework: A data visualization design pedagogical method for middle schoolers
Data visualization literacy is essential for K-12 students, yet existing practices emphasize interpreting pre-made visualizations rather than creating them. To address this, we developed the DPV (Domain, Purpose, Visual) framework, which guides middle school students through the visualization design process. The framework simplifies design into three stages: understanding the problem domain, specifying the communication purpose, and translating data into effective visuals. Implemented in a twoweek summer camp as a usage scenario, the DPV framework enabled students to create visualizations addressing community issues. Evaluation of student artifacts, focus group interviews, and surveys demonstrated its effectiveness in enhancing students' design skills and understanding of visualization concepts. This work highlights the DPV framework's potential to foster data visualization literacy for K-12 education and broaden participation in the data visualization community.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2314109
- PAR ID:
- 10621604
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Eurographics Association
- Date Published:
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- CCS Concepts: Human-centered computing → Visualization design and evaluation methods Empirical studies in visualization Human centered computing computing → Visualization design and evaluation methods Empirical studies in visualization
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: 9 pages
- Size(s):
- 9 pages
- Right(s):
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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