Why?

• The amount of data in our world has exponentially increased over the past two decades, yet the opportunities to learn about data and acquire data-related skills remain few and far between.
• Data Science can help make more informed decisions, answer questions, and discover new directions to look in.
• Data Scientist is considered to be a top in-demand occupation
  • Data analysts and scientists, artificial intelligence, and big data professionals ranked as the top 3 jobs demanded globally. (World Economic Forum, 2020)
  • The share of global companies planning to adopt “big data” analytics (90%+), cybersecurity (85%+), and artificial intelligence (80%+) has increased during COVID. (World Economic Forum, 2020)

Key Components

Learn Data Science through basketball	Leverage basketball statistics from both the NBA and the WNBA, with an emphasis on those of Pascal Siakam Build student understanding of data science through Python and Jupyter Notebooks
Differentiated Learning	All students are provided with the opportunity to be successful with coding and Jupyter Notebooks regardless of level of readiness Learn essential concepts and apply them to real-world scenarios
Design Thinking Process	Engage in the design thinking process (empathize, ideate, prototype, and test) Promote global competencies (communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving)
Inquiry (Personal Projects)	Explore data sets through basketball or other domains of interest Encourage student voice and choice to build both digital and data science skills Amplify creativity and personalization
Career Opportunities	Seek new opportunities in the field Discover and explore career pathways and opportunities in data science