DARE to Defeat Innumeracy
The Data Analysis Research Experience (DARE) is an NSF-funded initiative to train faculty from a wide range of disciplines at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), especially Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), in best practices for teaching data analysis and quantitative reasoning skills. During the faculty development program, participating instructors develop instructional materials that engage students in data analysis, including the ability to gather and interpret data, draw conclusions based on numerical evidence, and communicate this information to others. Subsequently, the faculty implement these materials in their classes with the goal of improving students’ Quantitative Reasoning (QR) skills and promoting their interest and comfort in hands-on data analysis. Ensuring that students at MSIs/HSIs have these skills is essential for social justice as data analysis and QR fluencies are indispensable for informed decision-making, civic engagement, as well as professional and personal success.
A key goal of our project is to evaluate the program’s impact on students’ quantitative reasoning skills, their attitudes towards quantitative information, and their subsequent STEM coursework and college success, including retention rates and their transitions from two-year to four-year institutions. Our research plan includes a mixed method study to analyze the outcomes of the professional development activities and to investigate student outcomes from the data analysis research experience. Our project seeks to build STEM faculty experience and teaching skills in data analysis, on the one hand, and to enhance the learning experiences of students in STEM, on the other. You can learn more about this initiative here.