The goal of our educational system is to prepare students to be a part of the workforce of tomorrow. Technology is advancing at such a rapid rate that, what we thought were traditionally human jobs, are being automated. This means that our system needs to adjust to prepare students with the skills they will need for the jobs that will be available to them. The 4 C’s (Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, and Critical Thinking) are skills that have been identified as imperative for the careers of the future. Tuva is an excellent tool to use as you work to develop these skills in your students.
Collaboration
Have students interact with each other as they work with Tuva. Students can work in groups as they analyze a Tuva data set or data created by you, the teacher. They can analyze different data sets, on similar topics, and share their findings to build towards a goal. Students can also collaborate to build a data set. As a class, you can set up an investigation or lab activity that leads students to contributing to a class data set.
Communication
The ability to effectively communicate data is a difficult skill, but one that Tuva is especially formulated to address. Through working with Tuva, students will learn how to organize and present their data to best communicate their findings. But communication goes beyond just the creation of a well constructed graph. Have students discuss their analyses as they work through an activity using a discourse strategy. Or have student contact other classes from around the world to collect data to create a Tuva graph.
Creativity
Creativity may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about data literacy, but it is fundamental to the process of collecting, analyzing, and sharing data. Create a question or a problem that challenges students to develop a creative solution. Give students a data set and watch as they approach the analysis of the data in unique and creative ways. Allow them to explore their creativity as they determine the most appealing way to display and communicate a particular data set.
Critical Thinking
One of the greatest advantages that Tuva provides is the ability to quickly get students to a place where they must think critically. Analyzing data sets requires higher order skills and the Tuva platform allows students to quickly generate and interact with data so that they can spend more time with these more advanced processes.