By Katy Hoffecker (@Katy_Hoff), high school mathematics teacher at Odessa High School and Jesse McNulty (@mrnultisanerd), Instructional Technology Specialist serving the Appoquinimink School District

In a data-driven world, the importance of data literacy for all is paramount. Everywhere we look, our brain is receiving and processing data. Data influences our everyday decisions, professionally and personally. Reading, interpreting, and understanding data allows us to make informed decisions, critically analyze situations, and become curious thinkers. The inability to fully understand and interpret data is, unfortunately, all too common. Making decisions based on the misinterpretation of data can have detrimental, irreversible effects on yourself and others impacted by those decisions.

Unfortunately, due to various factors, classroom experiences and access to real-world data analysis are regularly found lacking. Data literacy begins when we are young, but, in many cases, the corresponding classroom curriculum is cut due to lack of time and feelings of unimportance. In the Appoquinimink School District and throughout the state of Delaware, we have looked to combat these issues in several ways.

Every day we see data shared from many different platforms, such as news agencies, television and print, advertisements, and social media, and interpreted in various ways depending on the perspective of the platform and our own. In the Appoquinimink School District, Mrs. Hoffecker’s twelfth-grade Probability and Statistics course students investigate graphs, charts, and various data statements and decide how news agencies and advertisements represent data to push their agenda, prove their point, or advertise their product. The overall end goal gets students to question data and realize how easy it is to manipulate a scale or key terms to make the data appear how the platform wants. Also, students need to see and experience data and the world around them. One way to provide this connection to students and data in their world is to generate authentic learning experiences with real-world stakeholders based on their interests. One example of this in the Appoquinimink School District is our Statistical Analysis in Sports class. Students engage in a project-based learning opportunity where students act as technical analysts for a professional sports team. Example projects include summer college baseball teams in New England and professional basketball teams in Canada. In this experience, learners work with the team’s coaching staff to develop a series of data collection tools and data visualization models to better understand the events occurring in-game. This infusion of mathematics, partnered with connection to real-world stakeholders, creates a unique buy-in for students. Similar experiences have also taken place in our middle schools as part of STEM enrichment. Students take on various sports-based projects and include video conferencing with critical members of the sports community to generate buy-in to the overall learning experience.

The importance of data literacy and student agency in the learning process has been the work of many throughout Delaware over the last decade. Educators from across our state have come together through partnered work with the Delaware Mathematics Coalition. These educators have created a professional learning community to support their work in monthly professional development sessions, speaker series, webinars, annual conferences, and lesson analysis by sharing videos from each other’s classrooms. These initiatives raise awareness and teacher preparedness toward the vision of making every student’s voice heard and ensure all students have access to mathematics.

How can you support data literacy in your classroom and district? First, it starts with ensuring that the related curriculum is taught with fidelity and not eliminated. Students need exposure to data education from a young age and throughout their education. Even without the use of a formal curriculum, incorporating data literacy problems can occur frequently. A warm-up problem, a mini-project, an investigative task are a few examples of ways to get students reading, interpreting, questioning, and analyzing data. These could be smaller assignments scattered into a class or lesson, or a lengthier activity covering a day or multiple days. The goal is to get students to think about the data critically, analyze the information given, and recognize patterns in data regularly.

The best way to get students engaged is to connect their learning to something relevant to them. One data analysis activity Mrs. Hoffecker did with her students was to turn the sound on their cell phones on for notifications during class and track the notifications they received during those 90 minutes. Students would enter their data into a Google Form at the end of class, broken down by notification type. She did this with all of her classes which occurred at different times throughout the day. The next part of this activity was to have students analyze their class data collected in whatever way they felt was most appropriate. Students had to defend their analysis method, and the class decided on the analysis they felt was best. The next part of the process was to compare the data collected between all classes. Students had to determine if there were any similarities or significant differences between the classes and hypothesize what might be causing the data collected to be different between the various class sections. The goal of this activity was to get students talking and making conclusions about data. Having students involved in all aspects of the activity, from data collection to analysis to decisions, promoted more student engagement and learning. While this activity was for seniors in a probability and statistics course, adaptations could be made for all grade levels.

The opportunities for students to be exposed to and learn about data need to start early. In the Appoquinimink School District, we are committed to the mantra “The World is our Campus.” We believe that all learners of all backgrounds and ages can make their learning experience their own. As educators, we must provide our learners with the appropriate skill sets to meet the needs of a globally diverse society. Providing access and opportunities to all through real-world experiences and data is crucial to our success and the success of all learners.

Katy Hoffecker has been a high school mathematics educator for 15 years in the State of Delaware. She is currently teaching at Odessa High School in the Appoquinimink School District. In her spare time, she coaches three cheer programs and spends time with her husband, Tim, and two daughters, Tessa and Kinley.

Jesse McNulty is an Instructional Technology Specialist serving the Appoquinimink School District in Odessa, Delaware. In his spare time, Jesse co-moderates the Odessa High School Chess club, and enjoys the pool and outdoors with his wife, Angela, and two sons, Owen and Eli.