Data science coalition invites teachers and parents to have a say in the future of data science learning

University of Chicago

CHICAGO — Data science and data literacy are rapidly becoming essential skills for success across industry sectors and career fields. Now, Data Science 4 Everyone (DS4E) is inviting everyone — teachers, higher education faculty, parents, and students — to help shape what learning in this crucial area will look like.

It’s an area essential to success in today’s world and tomorrow’s. Nurses use data science skills when they read a patient’s chart; engineers analyze data to design hardware and products; and business owners use data to guide all aspects of their operations. According to a report from the Burning Glass Institute, nearly 25% of job postings in the United States require data science skills, but K-12 education has not kept pace to include the lessons, skills, and resources that students need. To ensure all K-12 students learn data science and data literacy skills, DS4E is leading a participatory, collaborative effort to build K-12 learning progressions for data science. 

DS4E is partnering with leading data science and education groups – including the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Science Teaching Association, the Computer Science Teachers Association, the National Council for the Social Studies, the American Statistical Association, the National Parents Union, the Academic Data Science Alliance, and Women in Data Science Worldwide – to launch Chart the Course, a voting platform inviting teachers, higher education faculty, students, and parents to weigh in on the development of the nation’s first-ever framework for incorporating data science into K-12 education. By considering input from people across stakeholder groups, this uniquely collaborative process is designed to produce learning outcomes that reflect the cross-disciplinary potential of data science and are highly relevant to students’ future careers.

From August 29—October 15, participants are encouraged to vote on the data science learning outcomes they think are most important for K-12 students. DS4E will incorporate input from the initiative into developing the nation’s first-ever K-12 data science education learning progressions which DS4E will present in collaboration with the Concord Consortium at the inaugural Data Science Education K-12: Research to Practice Conference in San Antonio, TX from February 17-19, 2025. 

These learning outcomes were developed over five months of collaboration led by 11 focus groups including representatives from Fortune 500 companies, state education agencies from 12 states, higher-education faculty across disciplines, undergraduate data science programs, schools of education, curriculum developers, teacher educators (from math, social studies, computer science, and the sciences), and undergraduate students.  

Learn more about the participatory process that informed Chart the Course's development here.

ABOUT DATA SCIENCE 4 EVERYONE:

Data Science 4 Everyone (DS4E) is a coalition and national initiative advancing data science education so that every K-12 student is equipped with the data literacy skills needed to succeed in our modern world. Equitable access to data science education is an opportunity to open doors to higher education, high-paying careers, and an engaged community. DS4E is based at the University of Chicago.