Associate Professor Jaime Booth is the Co-Principal Investigator on a $593,580 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her project “From Data Literacy to Collective Data Stewardship: Technology-Supported Community-Driven Solutions for Urban Youth.” In partnership with Pitt's School of Computing and Information this project will engage high school youth, living in Pittsburgh neighborhoods that have largely been left behind in recent shift from manufacturing to tech jobs, in developing and testing an educational technology that will support collaborative learning of data science in an informal learning environment by teaching how to use big data analytics to promote neighborhood assets and address neighborhood problems. The tool will enable a contextually relevant learning experiences that will train users to be data trustees in their communities and provide them with a pathway from data literacy to data stewardship and higher education in technology-related fields. Teaching youth to use big data to support advocacy and social change in their neighborhood will not only build computational skills but also foster a stronger civic identity among participants. The technology and curriculum developed through this project will be accessible to other communities for a broader implementation of similar programs.
The Principal Investigator is Associate Professor Rosta Farzan from Pitt's School of Computing and Information, and the other Co-Principal Investigator is Associate Professor Erin Walker, also from the School of Computing and Information.