TLT Lab Collaborates With the New York Hall of Science to Immerse Middle Schoolers in Data Science

New York, NY. The TLT Lab at Teachers College is partnering with the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) in the development of a 2.5 year project to immerse middle schoolers in the field of data science. NYSCI is a hands-on science center and museum in Queens, New York, that uses the “Design, Make, Play” approach to engage children and families in STEM learning. The collaboration is funded through a $1.6M grant from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program.

During week-long, immersive experiences, sixth graders from NYC area schools will explore data science practices such as question formulation, data collection, analysis, and visualization. The students will receive and get to keep GoGo Boards – low cost, open source sensing platforms – to collect and explore data around everyday phenomena in their communities. The project hopes to develop the students’ sense of agency and understanding of how data is used to make decisions around them. The project also aims to gather insight on how community data collection projects can increase data science knowledge and how museums can serve as springboards for those projects.

The camp curriculum – designed together with NYSCI practitioners – centers equitable and inclusive science learning for populations who are often underserved in STEM education. The first of six camps was held at the end of April, 2024, with the remaining to take place during upcoming school breaks in 2024 and 2025.

Read more about the NSF grant here:https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2314089.