Description

This 10-minute small group activity is designed to help learners think about how data science principles and practices connect with undergraduate biology education. It introduces several definitions of data science including the description of data acumen provided in the National Academy of Sciences report on data science for undergraduates (Ref. 1). The activity involves mapping the 10 key concepts involved in developing data acumen onto several scales (e.g., confidence in my skills, interest in building my skills). Participants do this individually and then debrief the plots with others in a small, online meeting setting. The presentation provides instructions for participants to draw their own plots or for the use of provided handouts (more challenging for an online meeting). Instructor notes are provided in the slide notes. 

This version was adapted from the original to be used as an introductory activity for a meeting of the NEON Data Education Faculty Mentoring Network.  Specific changes include: 

• Presentation
  • use of NEON template
  • removal of conference specific intro slides 
  • removal of a few intro slides (cutting intro down to 3 minutes) 
  • redesign of activity instruction slides (2 minutes) 
• Handout 
  • minor formatting redesign 
  • inclusion of clarifying instructions 

Ref 1: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Data Science for Undergraduates: Opportunities and Options. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25104.

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