Enriching Student Learning with Data Visualization

In the 2015-2016 academic year, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John\u27s University Libraries, Media Services and Archives partnered with an economics faculty member to take his Intro to Econ course to the next level. Rather than asking students to solely rely on static graphs and dry textbooks, we developed data visualization assignments that allowed students to be active, engaged participants in their learning. The Libraries staff were able to improve students\u27 digital literacies through their tech support and training, and this freed up the faculty member to teach disciplinary content in new ways. In this workshop, we\u27ll lead participants through our collaborative process: how we divided up tasks; identified appropriate learning objectives; crafted assignments; selected data sets; and decided on software (Tableau). We\u27ll talk about what\u27s worked, what still needs tweaking, and how we plan to expand data visualization support to faculty members in other departments. Participants will leave this session with a better understanding of how they can support data visualization in the classroom, and we\u27ll provide lists of resources and training opportunities that will help them get started