WK 27 - Data Science by Design: Integrating DS Skills into the Ecological Classroom

Session Description: Data Science is a growing interdisciplinary field with many applications in ecology. When teaching life science courses, especially ecology, it is valuable for instructors to know how to incorporate data science skills into the course learning objectives. However, this process can be complex and challenging for a number of reasons. This workshop will review research results conducted by the NSF-RCN: Biological and Environmental Data Education Network (BEDE) and guide instructors through equity-focused practices associated with integrating data science into their courses. In this workshop, we will explore student and instructor barriers to teaching and learning data science in a higher education setting.

This workshop is meant to cover all learning environments, from introductory to upper division courses, and across coding languages. Special attention will be paid to ethics and inclusivity with respect to data science education. Dr. Emery will introduce a variety of resources at the instructor's disposal, including how to use ChatGPT to promote students' coding skills. After a discussion of the multiple ways to integrate data science into courses, participants will play with these resources and workshop with their peers on ways to modify their pre-existing courses or a course they plan to teach in the future. Dr. Emery will facilitate the group discussions and guide participants through the step-by-step planning process of bringing data science skills into the ecological classroom. Groups will then report out and compare approaches across the different classroom modalities and learning goals. Participants will leave this workshop with a clear plan of action to incorporate data science into their life science courses and help prepare students for a variety of future careers. All materials used in the workshop will be shared among all participants.