Data Science In High School

 

I think it is important to offer math classes to students that they can use in real life, especially if they are not planning to go to college.  I've offered a class to students so they could learn construction or trades math, a class on the math involved in some of the Pixar movies, and of course practical financial math that covered credit cards, loans, insurance, and just about everything they'd need once they left school.  A new course that I want to offer is one on data science. 

Data science is a field where people take data and try to make sense of it.  This requires the use of scientific methods, algorithms, and assorted processes to separate the data into identified trends.  Companies use this information to make informed decisions to help the business grow while making a profit.  It is important for companies to be aware of the latest trends so they make the proper decisions.

There are many reasons students should study data science.  First, it is one of the fastest growing fields out there and it is expected to grow over 36 percent between now and 2031. It is an in demand career. In addition, it is a field that pays well, over $100,000 per year on average. In addition, it offers a variety of possible jobs from data analyst, to a machine learning engineer, to data base administrator, to data scientist, to so much more.  The jobs available range from health care to manufacturing, to the financial sector, and more.  

Data science requires knowledge of programming, modeling and analysis, statistics and probability, linear algebra and calculus, being able to visualize the data, machine and deep learning, data wrangling, data base management and data processing.

By offering students a taste of data science in high school, it gives students the chance to see if they are interested in pursuing this in college.  It can also expose students to this topic who might not ever think about going into this field. Should you want to offer this at your school but don't know where to go.  Heard off to the data science course at youcubed.org. 

This course is a year long exploratory experience that gives students a taste of it.  The course is free and comes with professional development so you can feel confident in offering the class.  You can explore the first unit without signing up for the class. The first unit focuses on data ethics, types of data, creating visual representations, figuring out the story the data tells, and more.  This unit is designed to take about a month. 

The unit comes with everything from the resources, slides, student reflections, samples of student work, student concept organizer, student portfolio, and software requirements.  In addition, it view all the activities for each section of the unit so you can check everything out ahead of time for planning purposes.  I realize that many schools are unwilling to add new classes like this without going through a ton of hoops.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day and weekend.

Data Science In High School

 

Things are changing. When I went to college many years ago, one wanted to have enough math in high school so you could go straight into calculus if you were majoring in the hard sciences.  In fact, if you could manage to take calculus in high school, even better but the requirements for what is needed in the real world has changed.

People are now thinking that a different approach is necessary for advancing in the hard science fields because data and statistics are being used more and more rather than calculus.  In fact, the collection and interpretation of data is being used to make predictions, interpret the events of the world, or explain the world.  

In fact, most data science has become a major player in the world and many are predicting that all high schools should offer a class in it.  Although sciences traditionally have used data and statistics over the years, other professions such as economics, politics, and education are relying more heavily on it.  Jo Boaler is recommending that schools provide instruction to students to help them develop data literacy.

Unfortunately, traditional pathways in modern education still have students taking a sequence leading to calculus. Furthermore, most schools still do not offer stand alone data science or statistics courses.  Statistics is often incorporated into Algebra I and II classes such as in my district.  This means students only get a surface knowledge of the material rather than a more in depth understanding.

It is hoped by offering additional classes in data analysis and statistics in high school, students will be better prepared for college and the workforce. If this cannot be done, it has been recommended that classes offer students the opportunity to work with large sets of data.  It is something students need to do before they graduate from high school.

In fact, if students take data science classes in high school, it opens up a chance to participate in the up and coming career of data scientist.  A data scientist sorts through data and provides the information necessary for various industries to make informed decisions. At the moment, there are more jobs available than candidates to fill them.

So if we want our students to understand more of the world around them while preparing them for a career or at least offer the tools needed to help them succeed, we need to begin offering data science classes in high school.  Unfortunately, education tends to be a bit slow in changing to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world.  Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear.  Have a great day.