<p dir="ltr">Data science literacy is increasingly vital for undergraduate engineering and science students, yet questions remain about effective integration approaches across established curricula. This study presents a case study investigating the impact of integrating discipline-specific data science modules into existing undergraduate STEM courses at three different universities in the United States (US) through a multi-university research-practice partnership examining both student perspectives and instructor course assessments. Using mixed methods analysis of survey responses from 877 students and instructors' grades and interviews across six courses, we examined changes in students' perceptions of data science across various demographics, academic levels, and disciplines and compared student and instructor perspectives. Results show significant increases in students' self-reported motivation, skills, interest, and confidence after completing one or more modules, with initial perception being the strongest predictor of final perception after controlling for course and institution differences. Analysis revealed general alignment between student self-assessments and instructor evaluations. Students highlighted benefits including real-world applications and career relevance, while identifying challenges with data science tools and varying experience levels. These findings provide insights for engineering educators seeking to integrate data science into their curricula.</p>
Funding
Collaborative Research: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Prepare Undergraduates for Data Science Using Real-World Data from High Frequency Monitoring Systems
Collaborative Research: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Prepare Undergraduates for Data Science Using Real-World Data from High Frequency Monitoring Systems
Collaborative Research: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Prepare Undergraduates for Data Science Using Real-World Data from High Frequency Monitoring Systems
confidence.xlsx – Data for the confidence construct based on student online surveys collected pre and post module implementation
interest.xlsx – Data for the interest construct based on student online surveys collected pre and post module implementation
motivation.xlsx – Data for the motivation construct based on student online surveys collected pre and post module implementation
skills.xlsx – Data for the skills construct based on student online surveys collected pre and post module implementation
survey_items.xlsx – File includes all the questions from online surveys from students during the course of the project
student_scores.xlsx – File includes student scores assigned by instructors for students on each module assessment
instructor_interview_codes.pdf – Document includes interview questions coded under themes and sub-themes
instructor_responses_aggregated.pdf – Document includes summary of instructor responses to some of the questions asked from them during the online one-on-one interviews