Pivoting the paradigm: the role of spreadsheets in K-12 data science

Abstract

Spreadsheet tools are widely accessible to and commonly used by K-12 students and teachers. While spreadsheets are not ideal for many types of statistical analysis, they have an important role in data collection and organization. From a pedagogical standpoint, spreadsheets make data visible and easy to interact with, facilitating student engagement in data exploration, analysis, and computation. Though not suitable for all tasks, spreadsheets can facilitate learning and practicing data and computing skills for K-12 students. This paper 1) demonstrates the potential utility of spreadsheets in K-12; 2) reviews prior frameworks and standards that are relevant for K-12 data tools; and 3) proposes data-driven data skills to help develop data acumen and computational fluency. We provide some example activities, identify challenges and barriers to adoption, suggest pedagogical approaches to ease the learning curve for instructors and students, and discuss the need for professional development to facilitate deeper use of spreadsheets for data science and STEM disciplines.