The importance of data is undeniable. It allows individuals and organizations to make more informed decisions, and data is essential to the success of corporations worldwide. Teachers must recognize this new reality and adapt their curricula accordingly. Failing to emphasize data literacy in the classroom will leave students unprepared to succeed in the real world.
Thus, advancing data literacy education is an important part of the work of modern curriculum and instruction professionals. The online Master of Science in Education (MSEd.) in Curriculum and Instruction – Teaching Technology program from Northwest Missouri State University reflects this critical component of modern education with numerous courses focused on data literacy and technology integration. Through these studies, teachers become effective leaders in the digital age of education.
What Is Data Literacy?
Tableau defines data literacy as “the ability to explore, understand, and communicate with data in a meaningful way.” While data literacy can encompass advanced technical skills, the foundation of data literacy is the intersection of information, critical thinking and communication. Combined skill with these intersecting factors leads to effective problem solving and decision-making.
To break down data literacy into simple terms, here are four competencies that are necessary for turning data into actionable initiatives, as outlined by Data Camp:
- Read data: Being able to understand and interpret data of different forms
- Work with data: Producing and collecting data, whether through experiments, surveys or other forms of research
- Communicate with data: Making an argument with data or transforming data into a story that can communicate the meaning of data
- Reason with data: Using data to inform and drive effective decision-making
These competencies are at the core of how companies currently conduct business. As such, they are crucial to an individual’s personal and professional success. Uniquely, teachers can impact students’ lives in the long run by fostering data literacy from a young age. Plus, integrating data literacy education into schoolwide curricula can help students faced with digital inequity access technology and the 21st century skill development they need to succeed in the real world.
4 Reasons Data Literacy Is Important for Students
Emphasizing data literacy in the classroom will better prepare students for life during school and after graduation. Here are four major reasons students must become data fluent. Data literacy:
- Makes communicating with technical teams more efficient. Corporations place a high value on individuals who can collaborate effectively across a variety of disciplines. Should a supervisor ask an employee to work with technical team members, the ability to communicate data will help them ask the right questions and understand the responses. As the term “data literacy” suggests, data is an essential component of modern communication, thought to be the “second language” of business today.
- Could lead to an important role as an analytics translator. According to the State of Data 2024 report, 94% of organizations believe they need to modernize their data systems within the next year. This suggests that there is a gap between where companies are at and where they need to be — in terms of personnel, skills and technology — to make the best use of the data they collect. As a result, data-fluent employees could earn promotions to the role of analytics translator. This important position typically requires employees with the following aptitudes: sales, marketing or similar non-technical experience; strong data or analytical skills combined with experience in a variety of cross-functional positions; and the ability to convert data insights into actionable goals or business decisions that drive value
- Increases your value to the organization and the value of your organization. A data-literate company is highly valuable. According to various recent reports, data literacy correlates with high levels of process efficiency, innovation and collaborative communication. In turn, these benefits improve productivity and lead to bottom line improvements and higher enterprise values — as in hundreds of millions of dollars higher. Individuals who increase the overall data literacy of their organizations find great success on the job market or when seeking promotions.
- May be critical to future employment prospects. The rise of COVID-19 cases rocked the U.S. economy and shifted the corporate landscape during and following the pandemic. An article published by the Data Literacy Project states that the “pandemic has accelerated the speed and scale of digital transformation, which of course presents a huge opportunity. Yet, a deficit in digital skills now — on the part of an organization or an individual — has the potential to jeopardize the future competitiveness of both.” This will likely impact younger job seekers the most, so data literacy will be essential for graduates who hope to succeed on their first foray into the job market.
Educators who want to prepare students for the realities of an evolving job market will need to emphasize data literacy in their curriculum. Northwest’s online MSEd. in Curriculum and Instruction – Teaching Technology program helps teachers develop the necessary tech savviness to foster data literacy among their students.
Learn more about Northwest’s online MSEd. in Curriculum and Instruction – Teaching Technology program.
