TeachingWithData.org: Example Presentation for

Faculty/Grad Students

OR Assessment Team WorkshopMay 25-26, 2010

Presentation Outline:

• Introducing the project partners• Introducing TeachingWithData.org– General overview– How/When to use TwD– Finding what you want, wanting what

you find– Future directions

Project Partners• ICPSR • SSDAN• Others involved

– American Economic Association Committee on Economic Education

– American Political Science Association– American Sociological Association– Association of American Geographers– Science Education Resource Center, Carleton

College

Inter-university Consortium for Political & Social Research (ICPSR)

• World’s oldest and largest social science data archive– Began in 1962 as ICPR

• Membership organization with 700+ members worldwide (non-members can use many resources)

• Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research

Current “Picture” of ICPSR• Currently 7,800 studies (64,800 data sets)– Grouped into Thematic Collections– Available in multiple formats– Federal funding allows parts of the

collection to be openly available– Data sources:

• Government• Large data collection efforts• Principal Investigators• Repurposing• Other organizations

Undergraduate Education• Fairly recent attention– Response to faculty– Undergrad users are fastest growing

segment

• NSF-funded projects– TeachingWithData.org (NSDL)– Course, Curriculum, & Laboratory

Improvement project to assess the effect of using digital materials on students’ quantitative literacy skills

SSDAN: Social Science Data Analysis Network

• Started in 1995• University-based organization that

creates demographic media and makes U.S. census data accessible to policymakers, educators, the media, and informed citizens. – Web sites– user guides – hands-on classroom computer materials

SSDAN• DataCounts! (www.ssdan.net/datacounts)

– Collection of approximately 85 Data Driven Learning Modules (DDLMs)

– Datasets (repackaged decennial census and American Community Survey)

– Target is lower undergraduate courses• CensusScope (www.censusscope.org)

– Maps, charts, and tables – Demographic data at local, region, and national levels– Key indicators and trends back to 1960 for some

variables • Kids Count in the Classroom (www.ssdan.net/kidscount)

– Course modules and exercises– Data resources and tools (tables, charts, maps)

SSDAN: CensusScope

• Charts, Trends, and Tables

• All available for states, counties, and metropolitan areas

TeachingWithData.org• National Science Digital Library –

Social Science Pathway• Goal: Make it easier for faculty to

use real data in classes– Undergraduate (esp. “non-methods”)– K(9)-12 efforts

• Includes survey of ~3200 social science faculty

TwD.org (con’t)

• Repository of data-related materials– Exercises, including games and simulations– Static and dynamic maps, charts, tables– Data – Publications

• Tagged with metadata for easy searching

Engaging Students Through Data• Piques student interest• Supporting Quantitative Literacy

– Roughly 30% of 2-year college students and 20% of 4-year college students show below basic or basic quantitative literacy skills:These students could not, for example, estimate if their cars had enough gas to get to a gas station. (The Literacy of America’s College Students, American Institutes for Research, January 2006)

• Engages students with disciplines more fully – Better picture of how social scientists work– Prevents some of the feelings of “disconnect” between substantive

and technical courses

• Opens the door to the world of data

13

When & How to Use TeachingWithData.org

• Short answer: ANY time! and often!• Long answer: Looking for

– Background reading on pedagogical issues relating to quantitative literacy and using data in the classroom

– Background information for teaching concepts– Ideas for creating own course exercises– “Ready to go” exercises– Datasets related to particular topics

• Typically instructors will search TwD first and point students directly to resources, but students can also go directly to the site– Especially useful for graduate students beginning to think about

teaching

Target Audience:

• Site primarily aimed at faculty teaching undergraduate social science courses (also grades 9-12)

• Resources useful in “non-methods/stats” courses as well as “technical courses”– Think about it as teaching substantive

content as well as teaching the quantitative skills

Disciplines:

• Currently covered:– Anthropology, Economics,

Environmental Studies, Geography, History, Political Science, Public Health, Public Policy, Social Work, Sociology

• Not a stretch: – Criminal Justice, Demography,

Education, Foreign Policy, Gerontology, Health and Medical Policy, Law/Legal Services, …

Finding What You Want

• Searching– Simple and advanced

• Browsing– Filtered search to narrow results– Start with discipline or subject OR by

type of resources• Heading links list all, sub-links narrow

search

Data Resources:

• Tables & Figures– Tables– Maps– Charts and other visualizations– Exercises with data

• Datasets– For SPSS, SAS, Stata, and other packages.– Extracts for educational use– Full datasets

Classroom Resources• Teaching Supports

– Lessons/Lectures– Activities/Exercises/Assignments/Modules– Syllabi/Reading Lists

• Reference Shelf– Tools for analysis, visualization, and course development– Events (conferences, webinars, etc.)– Pedagogical resources– Data providers

• Success Stories

Faculty Submission (coming soon)• Submission form– Some elements allow for multiple values– Controlled vocabularies assist search

TwD Next Phases:• Include resources for high school teachers• Ability to link data to analysis and/or

visualization tools• Mechanism for faculty to rate and

comment on resources• Peer-reviewed materials and capability for

faculty to upload their own resources• Community building through professional

associations and networks of users

For More Information:

(Your info goes here!)

Lynette Hoelter Instructional Resources & Development

lhoelter@umich.edu