DARE chat
The target course was JRN 222 New Media, a multimedia storytelling class. Students were mostly freshmen or sophomores. Very few were STEM majors, many were interested in communications, most had very limited experience with data analysis.
1) INTERVENTION GOALS:
• Shift student attitudes about working with data and address math anxiety.
• Engage students in the research cycle, from hypothesis to survey to analysis and visualization.
• Teach students to how to: read tables, work with percentages, perform basic tasks in spreadsheets, use pivot tables to analyze data, and visualize results in tables and graphs.
2) LESSONS:
• Students seem more engaged with data they have gathered themselves.
• Survey is helpful, but put focus on data analysis skills, with survey development secondary.
• Scaffolding, step-by-step, process is important to avoid overwhelming students.
• Pacing, drills and repetition were key for familiarizing non-STEM students with QR.
• For non-STEM students, shifting attitudes toward data analysis most important.
3) SURVEY TOPIC & TASKS
In the first survey we analyzed the impact of Covid on relationships and found some interesting insights. However, not everyone this age is in a relationship so I picked a subject that would be more broadly relevant. Food prices were very much in the news so I wanted our class to explore how this impacted New Yorkers. As I have not done a lot of survey development, I also sought input from Esther.
• Pick a topic that will engage students in the research process
• Avoid overly ambitious survey topics
• Consider survey respondents
• Keep focus on end goals for your group
• Consult DARE team for tips and materials
4) PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL IMPACT AND RELEVANCE OF QR
My first step in this process was to focus on why QR matters professionally and personally for my students.
This example is getting a bit dated but is relevant to this group as the story was likely written by a young journalist. It also illustrates the possible pitfalls of sticking to the ‘I’m bad at math’ myth. I also explain that knowing how to find, analyze and visualize data is the number one way to guarantee employment in a competitive field.
I used some materials from my past experiences with QR workshops such as having students think about numbers every New Yorker should know, roughly by heart.
Numbers we need to know
I showed them lots of examples of important data stories in the news.
Examples of important data stories in the news
4) THE SURVEY EXERCISE – FOOD PRICES
Our class explored food prices and food insecurity across a range of factors.
Pick a topic that will engage students in the research process
Avoid overly ambitious survey topics
Consider the likely survey respondents
Consult DARE team for tips and materials
5) REPETITION OF CONCEPTS, DRILLS
Develop sense of competence and confidence by layering repeated drills over the semester on key concepts. I rearranged my course syllabus so that I could spread out the scaffolded assignments and include additional drills.
Repetition is key for liberal arts students doing quantitative work because they quickly forget when they don’t use something often. It takes a few exposures to concepts for them to begin to sink in.
I began the semester with my public documents module where I have students write about their neighborhoods using Census data and public records. It’s an exercise that students usually enjoy as it allows them to see their neighborhoods in new ways.
I next moved into a module numeracy for journalists where I combine basic math with many examples of data storytelling.
This semester I had them read and analyze this story:
New York Is Rebounding for the Rich. Nearly Everyone Else Is Struggling
Again, with the idea to help them understand the world they are already experiencing as New Yorkers. The Bronx and Brooklyn were also among the top 10 counties in the country in terms of income inequality.
I also would pull out items I’d see on social media. Or showcased misleading use of data in articles.
Examples of important data stories in the news
REVIEW OF THE BASICS
Numeracy for Journalists – Quizzes mean, median, percent, percent change
Reading Tables
SPREADSHEETS, TABLES & GRAPHS
Steps in creating a data feature
Selecting the right visualization for your data, Datawrapper examples
Esther’s videos: Interpreting pie charts and bar charts, Making Bivariate Tables Using Spreadsheets
Spreadsheet basics exercises
V. ANALYSIS
Most students were able to create table, chart and brief analysis
Given step by step instructions
Found young, single people found COVID challenging for relationships, felt more isolated, as did women, also those who were in a relationship but not married
Students seem empowered by their ability to complete the exercise and excited about their data viz