CourseKata: Statistics and Data Science
At-A-Glance
CourseKata is composed of an online interactive book and a web-based “Teaching Dashboard” that includes Jupyter Notebooks designed to be integrated into the course.
CourseKata uses R with Jupyter Notebooks .
CourseKata provides alignment information for the Common Core State Standards for mathematics It also has a customized alignment document for the state of Utah (created to assist Utah with its pilot).
There is a Learning Management System (Canvas, Blackboard, or Moodle) that enables the teacher to monitor progress. CourseKata provides quizzes and tests in addition to assessment rubrics for every projects.
Course Kata’s AB book (the one reviewed here) has no required prerequisites. The ABC book recommends Algebra II as a prerequisite.
CourseKata costs $24/student each year with discounts available for multi-year contracts.
CourseKata offers study groups that include either seven one-hour sessions three times a week for two weeks in the summer or one time a week for seven weeks during the academic year. It also offers targeted workshops (e.g. pacing, grading). PD is $800/teacher for each of the first two years of use, which includes permanent access to study groups, office hours and other supports.
Key Features:
- Emphasizes statistics
- Interactive online book with Jupyter notebooks
- Learning management system
Instructional Practices:
CourseKata instruction entails interactive textbook instruction with associated problem solving in Jupyter notebooks. Teachers are free to use these features differently, with some assigning the textbook for homework and then emphasizing the Jupyter notebook work in class while others balance engaging students in textbook content during class time with the Jupyter notebook activities. The book guides the student through content acquisition using embedded interactive exercises while the Jupyter notebooks have teacher-facing content with summaries, highlighted skills and concepts, estimated completion times and other teaching suggestions.
Throughout instruction, students are expected to while engaging in investigations and the data science process. There is a particular emphasis on students embracing trial and error and understanding that persisting in the face of failure is part of successful problem solving. CourseKata is designed so that teachers make decisions about organizational structure (i.e. whole class, groups, pairs) and when to introduce opportunities for peer communication.
Lesson Structure:
The CourseKata book is organized into three “Parts” with Parts I + II (AB) comprising an introductory year-long course. There are 9 chapters in total with each chapter having between 9-14 sections. Each section is roughly aligned with a different topic. The basic format of the book is text with embedded interactive student exercises throughout. The Jupyter notebooks have two versions, one that is student facing and another that is teacher-facing. The teacher-facing version includes a summary, a list of included concepts and skills, approximate times for completion for each section, sample responses, and links to complementary resources. The format of the notebook lessons varies but generally includes an examination of a data set and using it to explore variation, and creating visualizations and models to answer questions.
Design Features:
CourseKata is unique among the curricula in that its learning management system (LMS) format enables teachers to regularly monitor students’ progress on both daily exercises and in-chapter exercises, tests and quizzes. Additionally, the book has a teacher view that includes answers to exercises. The LMS format supports other features such as teacher-created syllabi.
Another distinguishing feature is that CourseKata is a book and as such, requires that students do a significant amount of reading and depending on how it is used, a lot of independent work. The books leave space for teachers to make decisions about how they want to present the book content while the Jupyter notebooks provide teachers with more guidance for facilitating students’ learning.
Teacher Support and Resource Materials:
In addition to the monitoring and assessment tools that reside in the LMS, CourseKata’s Teaching Dashboard includes a searchable section with instructor-submitted materials including syllabi, Jupyter notebooks and teaching recommendations. CourseKata also provides teachers with help videos and weekly course outlines. Additionally, CourseKata has a “discourse community” teachers can enter to exchange ideas as well as weekly office hours available to instructors for guidance on teaching the course.
Finally, CourseKata has been designed to provide opportunities for teachers to give feedback on the book itself. They are in a regular process of materials improvement and collect student data and teacher input to inform their revision process.