Data Science Academy Fellowship FAQ

  1. What is Data Science?

    • Data science is the study of data. It involves developing methods of recording, storing, and analyzing data to effectively extract useful information. (techterms.com)

  2. I don't have any experience with data science or data or science! Is this for me?

    • Absolutely! The summer professional development we are planning will be an introduction to what the field of data science has to offer for educators today. Any topic, be it language arts, PE, math, etc. can benefit from learning how to collect, analyze and interpret sets of data to answer your questions in your field. 

  3. Who can participate in this Fellowship?

    • Arizona Educators, grades K-14

  4. What are the benefits of the Fellowship?

    • Fellows are awarded a $1000 stipend for the summer PD in Phoenix, AZ with an additional $500 stipend for out-of-town participants.

    • Additionally, fellows are awarded $50 per monthly meeting

    • A community of fellows to grow with all year

    • Certificate of Professional Development hours 

    • Experience with the statistical analysis tools, such as Excel, Google Sheets, Bootstrap: Data Science, R, CODAP, Data Classroom, etc.

    • New project ideas for your classroom with valued feedback

    • Experience with real world data problem solving in Arizona

    • Fun, learning something new that can help you and your students make more informed choices in school and in life

  5. How will I know if I got accepted as a fellow?

    • Application deadline is May 15st with fellows being notified as late as May 31st.

  6. One more thing added to my plate as a teacher? What is the purpose?

    • Authentic engagement with any topic through the lens of a data detective. 

    • Imagine a student with a genuine question that feels empowered to tackle this problem through the skills you introduced to them to in class. That's our goal. Data driven solutions in a myriad of topics, for any K-14th grade student in Arizona. 

  7. How much time do I have to commit for this fellowship?

    • Minimum 5 half days in the summer, a 1-2 hour meeting every month until April 2025 and time spent on the deliverable options for your fellowship

    • As with most things, the time you commit to learning a new skill, the more value you'll get out of the experience. Data science is a growing field that will only get more relevant in this age of technology. Our young students can get a head start in this field with our efforts to bring data literacy to the classroom. 

  8. What are the deliverables for this fellowship?

    • There are two options for both the use of funds and the deliverables that we ask of our fellows.

 

Option A

Option B

Deliverables:

Individual student and/or whole class project with either DataJam or SARSEF that gives students the opportunity to use Big Data to answer their research questions. 

  1. Blog post or short article summarizing learning experience

  2. Artifact- can include lesson plan and/or recording of lesson being taught in the classroom

  3. Statement and implementation plan for how participant plans to address equity issues in the field of data science through inclusive recruitment, retention, and pedagogical strategies 

  1. I cannot attend the summer PD dates, can I still participate in this fellowship?

    • Unfortunately, no. The summer professional development week is essential for our fellows to get an introduction to data science as a field, to gain experience as a group with the resources we will provide and for our community of fellows to start developing data science experiences for their classrooms. If these dates do not work, we suggest applying for next year’s EDSci Fellowship.

  2. What do I need to get started?

    • An internet connection and your willingness to learn in a supportive community of other beginners. Seriously, that's it!

  3. How can I apply?

  4. More questions? Email us at dataacademy@arizona.edu. Let's chat!