Designing and implementing a data science module for gifted middle school students

This study examines how a data science learning module can be added to a middle school programming curriculum for gifted students. Six gifted students participated in a seven-week program focused on data science using Python programming. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the students’ information technology teacher before and after the implementation. The insights from these interviews guided our course design. Next, we implemented a seven-week data science teaching module, in which students used Python to analyze real digital game data. We explored students’ progress through audio recordings and observations in class. Although the students initially lacked statistical knowledge, they successfully used Python to apply statistical concepts to data sets. The teacher suggested including more data science topics, especially machine learning. The results indicate that adding data science content to middle school programming curricula can improve gifted students’ statistical reasoning thanks to practical coding experiences. Additionally, this integration might encourage teachers to explore topics like machine learning, highlighting the benefits of combining different subjects in education.