In-person Workshop – Monday 6/27/2022 (in Little Rock at a location to be determined)
Professional Development Hours – 7
The Arkansas NSF EPSCoR funded Arkansas Big Data Science staff at UAMS will conduct this in person workshop designed primarily for 7th and 8th grade science teachers (math teachers welcome). Teachers will benefit from this workshop by learning how to incorporate big data science into their classrooms. The ARBDS team have developed a short middle school data science focused curriculum that modifies two NOAA “data in the classroom” modules and adds an additional data science focused module. Attendees will work individually and in pairs or small groups to complete major parts of the project just as a student would do in the classroom. Participants will be required to join the activities using their own laptop computers (no tablets/iPads) and access program materials through wireless internet access at the workshop. Participants are not expected to have any previous knowledge of or experience in data science for this workshop. The program emphasizes building the data literacy skills of students through reading of graphs, plotting of data, calculating simple statistical measures of data, and exploring large data sets from the NOAA website.
Attendees should register for this workshop using the following link:
https://forms.gle/6sqssjnPiMintUsE6
For questions and further information please contact:
Kevin D. Phelan, Ph.D.
Co-Director of Arkansas Big Data Science Program
Phone: 501-837-5082 (cell)
Email: phelankevind@uams.edu
Agenda
I. Workshop on Monday, June 27th, 2022
(8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.; seven hours of instruction )
8:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. Sign-in and informal meet and greet, preworkshop survey
8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Introduction of workshop staff, goals and workshop materials
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. NOAA Sea Level module
10:15 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Morning break
10:25 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. NOAA Sea Level module
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Working lunch – short teacher panel discussion
12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. NOAA El Nino module; Data Science Module
2:00 p.m. – 2:10 p.m. Afternoon break
2:10 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Data Science Module
3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Wrap-up, final remarks and postworkshop survey
What to Expect
The Arkansas Big Data Science team will provide teachers with printed copies of the teacher guide and student data worksheets, links to our online Google drive of resources including program datasets, introductory training on the use of Common Online Data Analysis Program (CODAP), introduction to working with the NOAA data in the classroom website, and introduction to the visual programming environment of Orange3. Teachers will work in pairs or small groups on their own laptop computers during the workshop. All incidental supplies needed for the workshop will be provided on site. Teachers will need to bring laptop chargers. Lunch will be provided on site.
Target Audience
This workshop is primarily designed for middle school/junior high science teachers of 7th and 8th grade students but parts of the program could be applicable for teachers of 6th grade students. The program relies on the NOAA “data in the classroom” website which deals with science related concepts about the sea level, tides, hurricanes, sea temperature, and chlorophyll content.
Interested teachers should register at: https://forms.gle/6sqssjnPiMintUsE6
Content (K-12)
Data science is one of the largest growing STEM fields. Middle school students need to learn about the careers that are available for them in data science. The need for increased data literacy in middle school is important for student success as they move forward through high school and college. The Arkansas Big Data Science staff at UAMS has developed a data science focused program that can be incorporated into middle school/junior high science classrooms. This program utilizes the NOAA Sea Level and El Nino modules and a data science focused module while exposing students to large datasets. The program reinforces mathematical skills, graphing of datasets, and reading graphs. The students will learn about data science and how data visualization is key to telling a story. The inclusion of this data science pilot program in the classroom will reinforce existing skills and provide teachers and students with a solid foundation for using large datasets in their education.
Learning Objectives
The learning designs for the Data Science workshop are to increase teacher content knowledge about data science and to model how to incorporate working with large datasets and data science concepts in the classroom. The key learning designs include:
- Increase teacher knowledge of modules involving large datasets from the NOAA “Data In The Classroom” website.
- Learn how to teach the Big Data Science curriculum that we have developed in the classroom.
- Build teacher comfort with using large datasets in their science classrooms including use of the CODAP program.
- Network with other middle school/junior high teachers on the use of large datasets in the classroom.
Presenters and Qualifications
Kevin D. Phelan, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He received his Ph.D. in Anatomy from Michigan State University. He did postdoctoral basic science research in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at UTMB Galveston, in the Department of Pharmacology at UMDNJ Piscataway, and in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He joined UAMS as a faculty member in 1992 and has over 30 years of teaching the anatomical sciences. He is the Co-Director of a pilot Arkansas EPSCoR DART SEED grant to develop and pilot data science in middle school classrooms. As Program Director of ArkanSONO SEPA (Science Education Partnership Award) he oversees a $1.27 million dollar, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) whose main focus is to increase the diversity of students entering STEM fields. Dr. Phelan has been the recipient of numerous awards at UAMS including: the Lutterloh Professor of Medical Education Excellence, the Chancellors Excellence in Education Award, Dean’s Educational Excellence Awards, Education Innovation Award, and numerous Red/Gold Sash Awards from medical students for his teaching efforts. He received the Brick Layer Award from the Little Rock School District (LRSD) in 2019 for his STEM related outreach efforts.
Annice Steadman is a retired K-12 educator with nearly 50 years of experience. She graduated college with a degree in science education and accepted her first teaching position at a middle school in the Little Rock School District teaching Earth, life, and physical science. Six years later, she accepted an invitation to teach biology and AP Biology at Little Rock Central High School. During her twelve-year tenure she became involved in preparing students for the science competitions. The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts employed Mrs. Steadman as the Director of Life Science. There she worked with an outstanding group of teachers to write the curriculum, design classrooms and laboratories, and recruit students for the charter class. For the next two years she taught AP Biology, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology while serving as Director of the ASMS Regional Science Fair. After returning to Central High School, she worked with College Board during the summer months as an APSI AP Biology instructor. After a career in public school she spent six years at Pulaski Academy Upper School. After a short break from the classroom Annice returned to LRSD for the next four years as the Science Lead Teacher. She retired from that position and then accepted a position as the Curriculum Integration Coordinator for the Arkansas Big Data Science project. She has worked closely with Dr. Phelan to develop and implement this novel data science focused curriculum.