I recently finished a masters assignment that required me to analyzed and think critically about data. I had used data previously as a means to plan my instruction. In my new role as a technology teacher my instruction is less driven by data and more driven by the ISTE Standards. For this assignment I examined preexisting data around Augmented (AR) and Virtual Realities (VR).
The assignment allowed me to investigate how AR and VR is used in the classroom and how it can effect student engagement and academics. I learned a lot about data literacy though this assignment. I learned that it is important to find reliable sources, analyze data that comes from a good size test group, and how to use data to learn more about a given topic.
This assignment has intrigued me to create a data literacy unit for my middle school students. I want to teach them to become data literate. I hope to create a credible sources unit that will teach my students how to analyze websites and understand information they find.
Completing this Data Literacy project has allowed me to strengthen my inquiry skills. Critically analyzing previously existing data has allowed me to form questions around my current teaching position and connections to my schools zSpace lab. I am anxious to engage my middle school students in a data literacy project as well. Teaching them inquiry skills and showing them how to analyze data will benefit them as they enter the workforce in the future. I hope to engage them in a data literacy project that focuses around the content they are studying in Social Studies.
Allison Sandler 