Data Science & Education
Project Description
This project aims to consolidate existing research on data science education and create resources for legislative reform. First, by creating policy playbooks which outline empirically successful standards for professional development, data literacy requirements, and collecting and reporting data about the efficacy of curriculum reforms. Second, by understanding and evaluating the advantages of strategies used by contemporary education reform movements. Finally, by identifying and communicating with state legislators who are key to education reform efforts. This project is a collaboration with Data Science for Everyone (DS4E), a coalition for advancing data science education for K-12 students across the country.
Project Lead: Zara Chapple
Majors: Sociology & Public Policy
Zara is a second-year majoring in Sociology and Public Policy with a minor in South Asian Languages and Civilizations. She joined PDI in Fall of 2021 where she researched housing policy and access to social services in Illinois. She is incredibly passionate about education policy and reform, having worked as a tutor and debate coach as well as developing anti-racist leadership curricula for grade school students at Pollyanna. Working with PDI and DS4E, she hopes to identify best practices for teaching data science and is excited to collaborate with legislators and educators across the country. She spends her free time knitting, baking, reading, and listening to Taylor Swift.
