Advancing Data Science Education in K-12

“In Advancing Data Science Education in K-12, Victor Lee accomplishes a rare feat: he reviews and reinvents the nascent field of Data Science Education with clarity, precision, and fantastic writing. Easy to read but conceptually rich and rigorous, the book redefines the language we use to talk about data science and data literacy in ways that will be consequential for years to come in academia and schools. Lee’s book is the fundamental guide for educators, researchers, and policymakers in exploring the field, understanding its potential, and determining how to bring it to schools. In a world still struggling to make sense of the impact of new technologies in education, Victor offers us hope that future generations will be better prepared for a seemingly inevitable data-driven future.” —Paulo Blikstein, Associate Professor in the Teachers College and Affiliate Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department and Data Science Institute at Columbia University, USA “Advancing Data Science Education in K-12 offers a unique perspective on data science education from a scholar who has both witnessed and led the development of this emerging discipline. Its breadth and rigor are complimented by Victor Lee's personal stories and observations. It promises to be a definitive text for years to come for researchers and others interested in data science education.” —Joshua Rosenberg, Associate Professor of STEM Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA, and co-author of Data Science in Education Using R“This work provides a truly unique perspective, combining Lee's deeply informed experience as a researcher with his incisive acumen for observing and distilling sociopolitical trends in education. Drawing upon both in equal measure, Lee paints an expansive view of the landscape and history of data science education, then culminates the work with a series of provocative punchlines that reveal important new strands of inquiry and illuminate the future of this rapidly growing field. Highly accessible yet packed with nuggets of wisdom, Advancing Data Science Education in K-12 stands out as that most rare of resources: an essential, go-to primer for those new to the field, and a well of fresh insights and inspiring calls to action for data science educators and researchers, both veteran and new alike.” —Chad Dorsey, President and CEO of The Concord Consortium “It is a time of rapid curricular change as educators and policymakers grapple with how to deal with a data-rich and AI-mediated future. Advancing Data Science Education is an accessible yet extensive introduction to what researchers know—and, equally important, what we don’t yet know—about what it means for youth to think and learn with data. The book is rich in examples of the many ways data science has been taken up in classrooms and other educational spaces. It points to exciting open questions that will require deep collaboration between educators, researchers, and domain experts to address. Perhaps most importantly, it proposes new language that can lend traction and specificity to ongoing conversations and debates in the field. I recommend this book for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of current issues and questions around Data Literacy and Data Science Education.” —Michelle Hoda Wilkerson, Associate Professor in the Berkeley School of Education at University of California–Berkeley, USA, and Co-Editor of Situating Data Science “In this tour-de-force, Victor Lee demonstrates substantial intellectual courage by taking on the field of data science education while it is in a constant state of change. He begins Advancing Data Science Education in K-12 by questioning whether ‘data’ is singular or plural and quickly convinces the reader that such attention to detail about words can yield important insights. His discussion of the distinction between ‘data literacy’ and ‘data science’ is particularly illuminating, as he offers multiple perspectives that reveal important subtleties not often made clear in print. Throughout, Lee’s style is accessible and slyly humorous, guiding the reader through both high-level conceptual discussions and specific examples with equal ease. From readers who are just beginning to learn about data science education to those with substantial knowledge who want a fresh perspective, this is a valuable read.” —Andee Rubin, Principal Scientist at TERC “The exploding growth in data, the rise of data science, and the need for a coherent way to teach students how to make sense of the world they will inhabit are the core motivations for Victor Lee’s provocative, informative, and accessible Advancing Data Science Education in K-12. We are at a key inflection point in the development of K-12 Data Science Education, with the initial hype about how data will neatly solve long-standing issues replaced by a more realistic sense of how data can be used (or misused). Lee’s thoughtful call for a coherent vision for the field will be extremely valuable for educators, researchers, schools, and policymakers, as well as those interested in ways that data science can transform our educational systems.” —Nicholas J. Horton, Beitzel Professor of Technology and Society (Statistics and Data Science) at Amherst College, USA, and previous Editor of the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education