Investigate with visualizations
Create data visualizations to directly support the analysis steps of data.
K–2 Competencies
Ensure students can use tally marks or manipulatives (e.g., stickers, blocks) to represent data.
Classroom resources
Data Science Starter Kit Module 5: Telling the Story - Visualization and Communication
Welcome to the culminating skill of data science—communicating your findings effectively so others can understand and act on them! This module focuses on how to create clear visualizations and compelling narratives that make data accessible and meaningful to different audiences.🔗
Visualization and Communication isn’t about creating fancy graphics or impressive presentations. It’s about developing the empathy and clarity to think, “How can I help others understand what this data means and why it matters to them?” The best data science in the world is useless if it can’t be understood and applied by the people who need it.
3–5 Competencies
Recognize how frequency distributions can help identify outliers and errors in the data. e.g., data contains values that shouldn't be possible
Organize and present collected data visually to highlight relationships and to support a claim.
Classroom resources
Data Science Starter Kit Module 5: Telling the Story - Visualization and Communication
Welcome to the culminating skill of data science—communicating your findings effectively so others can understand and act on them! This module focuses on how to create clear visualizations and compelling narratives that make data accessible and meaningful to different audiences.🔗
Visualization and Communication isn’t about creating fancy graphics or impressive presentations. It’s about developing the empathy and clarity to think, “How can I help others understand what this data means and why it matters to them?” The best data science in the world is useless if it can’t be understood and applied by the people who need it.
6–8 Competencies
Use visualizations of common data distributions to identify potential errors in the data. e.g., outliers, out-of-bounds values
Visualize the distribution of data to illustrate the shape, spread, and measures of center informally.
Create scatterplots for pairs of numerical variables in the data set and evaluate whether the relationships or non-relationships are as expected.
Classroom resources
Biodiversity Snapshot by DataClassroom
The purpose of this lesson is to help students create effective data visualizations to communicate conservation stories and understand how Indigenous communities use data science to protect biodiversity. Students will analyze camera trap data from the Peruvian Amazon, create multiple visualization types to reveal biodiversity patterns, and craft data stories that connect scientific findings to real-world conservation efforts and cultural preservation.
Data Science Starter Kit Module 5: Telling the Story - Visualization and Communication
Welcome to the culminating skill of data science—communicating your findings effectively so others can understand and act on them! This module focuses on how to create clear visualizations and compelling narratives that make data accessible and meaningful to different audiences.🔗
Visualization and Communication isn’t about creating fancy graphics or impressive presentations. It’s about developing the empathy and clarity to think, “How can I help others understand what this data means and why it matters to them?” The best data science in the world is useless if it can’t be understood and applied by the people who need it.
9–10 Competencies
Visualize the distribution of raw data to identify outliers and out-of-bounds values in context.
Communicate key features of distribution (e.g., measures of center, spread, shape) formally and with precision.
Classroom resources
Who is the Data MVP of the NBA? by DataClassroom
The purpose of this lesson is to help students create sophisticated data visualizations to analyze NBA player performance while critically examining how data-driven arguments compare to human judgment in decision-making contexts. Students will use FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR statistics to build evidence-based cases for MVP candidates, then evaluate the limitations of data storytelling when complex human factors influence real-world decisions
Data Science Starter Kit Module 5: Telling the Story - Visualization and Communication
Welcome to the culminating skill of data science—communicating your findings effectively so others can understand and act on them! This module focuses on how to create clear visualizations and compelling narratives that make data accessible and meaningful to different audiences.🔗
Visualization and Communication isn’t about creating fancy graphics or impressive presentations. It’s about developing the empathy and clarity to think, “How can I help others understand what this data means and why it matters to them?” The best data science in the world is useless if it can’t be understood and applied by the people who need it.
11–12 Competencies
Create data visualizations of raw data and increasingly aggregated forms of the same data to help understand the nuances of the data.
Strategically use data visualization to identify potential outliers, errors, and unexpected findings, while clearly stating and justifying any reasons for excluding certain potentially erroneous observations.
Classroom resources
Too Old to Mango? by DataClassroom
The purpose of this lesson is to help students master professional-level data visualization and communication skills by analyzing agricultural research data on mango tree productivity across different ages. Students will create publication-quality visualizations, conduct statistical analysis, and communicate findings to diverse stakeholders in ways that can influence agricultural policy, economic decisions, and global food security strategies.
Data Science Starter Kit Module 5: Telling the Story - Visualization and Communication
Welcome to the culminating skill of data science—communicating your findings effectively so others can understand and act on them! This module focuses on how to create clear visualizations and compelling narratives that make data accessible and meaningful to different audiences.🔗
Visualization and Communication isn’t about creating fancy graphics or impressive presentations. It’s about developing the empathy and clarity to think, “How can I help others understand what this data means and why it matters to them?” The best data science in the world is useless if it can’t be understood and applied by the people who need it.
Advanced Competencies
Classroom resources
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