Book Club Model for Engaging with Data Science and Ethics: Using Weapons of Math Destruction
Pages 1374 - 1380
Abstract
This experience report describes a book club model for an undergraduate-level Big Data Analytics course. Course learning outcomes included communicating ethical implications of data and models and working collaboratively with other students in crafting solutions by listening and demonstrating. Students read Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil, individually answered reading questions, and collaborated on activities in three class meetings. Students' participation and activity completion rates exceeded 90%, indicating engagement with the book club model. To understand students' experiences with the activities, students' work and survey responses were analyzed. The book club activities expanded students' understanding of bias in data and models, the potential misuse and harm when using and creating software, and how models can target users. In addition to providing activities for a specific book, this paper can serve as a template for using the book club model in any computing course.
Supplemental Material
MP4 File
Presentation video: This video provides an overview of how to use a book club model in a computer science course. Specifically, the book, Weapons of Math Destruction, was used in a Big Data Analytics course. The video showcases the activities and student work from three book club discussion class sessions. Students read three to four chapters for each unit, answering reading questions before the class session. During the class sessions, students engaged in activities such as speed networking, posters and gallery walks, minute papers, and case studies.
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March 2024
1583 pages
ISBN:9798400704239
DOI:10.1145/3626252
- General Chairs:
- Ben Stephenson,
- Jeffrey A. Stone,
- Program Chairs:
- Lina Battestilli,
- Samuel A. Rebelsky,
- Libby Shoop
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License.
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Published: 07 March 2024
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Presentation video: This video provides an overview of how to use a book club model in a computer science course. Specifically, the book, Weapons of Math Destruction, was used in a Big Data Analytics course. The video showcases the activities and student work from three book club discussion class sessions. Students read three to four chapters for each unit, answering reading questions before the class session. During the class sessions, students engaged in activities such as speed networking, posters and gallery walks, minute papers, and case studies. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3626252.3630792#3626252.3630792-video.mp4
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