ECT Brownbag: Shiri Mund

The last decades have seen an unprecedented growth in the availability and accessibility of digital data. Data influence opinions and decision making in all areas of daily life (Prado & Marzal, 2013), ranging from government policy and professional hiring to university admissions, sports analytics, and shopping. As society contends with data’s impact on the nature of knowledge, communication, and privacy, it faces a pressing need for students and citizens who are intelligent producers and cautious consumers of this data. In short, we need data-literate individuals who “understand, explain and document the utility and limitations of data by becoming critical consumer[s] of data, controlling their personal data trail, finding meaning in data, and taking action based on data” (Oceans of Data Institute, 2015).

In my research, I am exploring the boundaries and definitions of data literacy and how it develops from school to work with the aim of designing educational pathways that strengthen data literacy in students. I will be describing early findings of a mixed-methods study exploring this question and introduce the concept of data literacy personas.