Online Program

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Thursday, May 30
Software
Teaching Statistics More Effectively to a New Generation of Students
Thu, May 30, 10:30 AM - 12:05 PM
Grand Ballroom E
 

Teaching Data Communication (306281)

Presentation

*Amelia McNamara, University of St. Thomas 

When data science majors first began to emerge, they (by necessity) were composed primarily of courses already on the books at a particular institution. Now, as colleges and universities put more focus on data skills, we are in a position to consider whether those existing courses are ideal, or if we should develop more specialized offerings. For example, introductory data science courses have emerged to teach computational skills more suited to data science than traditional introductory computing courses. A similar transition is happening with communication, which we can divide into three main categories: visual communication, written communication, and oral communication. Visual communication was traditionally the purview of art and design programs, but many statistics and data science departments now offer courses in data visualization. Written communication is traditionally housed in an English or communication department, but some institutions now offer courses in writing about data, or data journalism. Finally, teaching and learning about oral communication has taken place in public speaking classes, but we could imagine a specialized course in speaking about data. This talk will outline some of the emerging offerings in data communication, the ways data communication is different from other forms of communication, and discuss whether it makes sense for data experts or communications experts to teach it.