{"id":1804,"date":"2021-01-14T12:53:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T17:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/digitalhumanities\/?post_type=project&p=1804"},"modified":"2021-01-14T12:53:44","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T17:53:44","slug":"developing-data-narrative-curriculum-a-theoretical-approach","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/digitalhumanities\/project\/developing-data-narrative-curriculum-a-theoretical-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing Data Narrative Curriculum. A Theoretical Approach"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_team_member name=”Gregory Iannarella” position=”Department of English” image_url=”https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/digitalhumanities\/files\/2021\/01\/10346597_Iannarella-headshot-222.jpg” admin_label=”Name of Faculty Fellow or Seed Grant Recipient” _builder_version=”4.8.0″][\/et_pb_team_member][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title meta=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=”Project Description” _builder_version=”4.8.0″]<\/p>\n

What is Data Narrative?<\/h2>\n

Data Narrative<\/strong> is a field of study that concerns itself with the necessity of high-level story telling and rhetorical skills to meet increasingly complicated Data Analysis questions. It hopes to maximize information fluency by translating mathematical figures into the story of our lives.<\/p>\n

It strives to bring meaning to the data we create and collect.<\/p>\n

Why is this crucial to learning how to write?<\/h2>\n

Engaging<\/strong> with data fosters critical rhetorical skills. We expect our students to engage and work with primary sources, but don’t give them the tools to understand how primary sources are created. Because of this, students frequently write in a linear way. Whatever sources they find, they use, usually in blind agreement. There isn’t much recursive writing.<\/p>\n

Recursivity<\/h2>\n

The goal of this project is to highlight the major benefits of incorporating data in writing instruction. The major benefit is creating a habit of recursion. That is, changing the trajectory of student writing from A-B, to a circular approach that’s open to change, critical thinking, and creativity to solve difficult problems and answer difficult questions within the constraints<\/strong> of real data.<\/p>\n

The hope is that this gives students an intimacy with their source work, with the conversation in which they’re engaging, that will translate to an increased intimacy with their own writing.<\/p>\n

Real<\/em> Writing has a shape. That shape is Circular<\/em>. To encourage and teach circular writing, we need to build a sandbox that mimics the work required to produce good writing.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Project Description Continued” _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n

DIY Primary Sources: Data Visualizations<\/h2>\n

A simple and easy way to allow students to create their own, legitimate primary source is by visualizing data. In fact, in many ways, raw data and its visualization is the purest primary source (with some caveats).<\/p>\n

The curriculum should begin with some light instruction on data, with some preliminary writing that explains how it’s collected and chosen. This activity teaches students the frequently allusive skill of being source critical.<\/p>\n

The best way to create this environment is with a sandbox<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For this specific project, I was building off other research I’d done using Policy Map<\/strong> as the research sandbox. I wanted to see if, in one semester, we could achieve end-to-end data narrative training with students who had no experience with this genre of writing. The goal was that by the end of the course, they could use the industries most sophisticated software (tableau) to create interactive visualizations<\/p>\n

In order to get there, I developed a sequence of 3 assignments which simultaneously instruct key rhetorical skills through the lens of data analysis. The results were promising.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Step 1 head and subhead” _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n

Step 1: Basic interaction and Visual Analysis.<\/h2>\n

Translating the image.<\/h3>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ admin_label=”Assignment 1″ _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ admin_label=”Assignment” _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Assignment” _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n

Assignment 1<\/h2>\n

Writing Assignment 1: Emailed Insights Rough Draft<\/h3>\n

For this writing assignment,\u00a0first,\u00a0I want you to look through\u00a0and explore the various articles in the “Writing in Context” Folder.<\/p>\n

Choose one of the articles (or larger resources), and write a professional, persuasive email where you make a case for why you think this article, topic, set of visualizations, should be included in this course. The question is: How is this useful to learn Business Writing?<\/p>\n

In order to do this, you should take screen shots of the visualizations and include them in the body of the email. Remember, you aren’t simply making a case for how interesting the topic is, but analyzing, investigating, and theorizing the urgency of the topic\u00a0through\u00a0the visualizations and other data.<\/p>\n

You should include images as well as quotes from the text. For this assignment, no citation is necessary.<\/p>\n

The email should be no longer than a page long. Think of it as a proposal that would lead to a longer meeting for discussion.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Learning Objectives” _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Learning Objectives:<\/h3>\n

At the end of this unit\/module\/week, students will be able to:<\/strong><\/p>\n