Faculty-led Inquiry into Reflective and Scholarly Teaching (FIRST)
Date of this Version
Summer 2022
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Sports Data Analysis and Visualization isa required course for all Sports Media and Communications majors at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The course is an introduction to using data and code to reveal stories in sports data. Sports media students, as a general rule, have very little experience with code, so the course utilizes a considerable amount of customized content specifically tailored to the course and aimed at the level of the typical student. Previous iterations of the course used an online static textbook, where students were expected to follow along and execute code blocks, but the book had no facilities for student interaction, execution and feedback. This course portfolio documents the switch from the static textbook to an interactive set of tutorials, hosted on each student’s computer, which required students to work through the tutorial material for credit while providing feedback where they may have gone wrong. Students reported high praise for the interactive tutorials, fewer of them required personalized help outside of class and grades remained similar to previous semesters in spite of zero students withdrawing from the class for low academic performance.