Faculty Workshop: March 18: 2-5 EST – Incorporating US Census and ACS data into Undergraduate Courses

Workshop Description:

This workshop will introduce teachers to easy-to-use tools and approaches toward integrating US census and American Community Survey (ACS) analysis into a broad range of social science courses. It will feature US census based teaching resources – accessible datasets and classroom modules – available with the Social Science Data Analysis Network at the University of Michigan’s Population Studies Center. Participants will learn about how to use these resources and adopt them in their courses, as well as ways to assess student proficiency. Downloadable materials will be provided to assist adoption.

The workshop will begin with an overview of the SSDAN project and data analysis materials. Brief tutorials on the easy-to-use software tools will follow, with examples drawn from existing U.S. Census and ACS access tools. Time will also be allotted for virtual participants to “play the role of students” and participate in a hands-on analysis of data from the website using their home computers.

Workshop instructors include William Frey, director of SSDAN, John P. DeWitt, SSDAN manager, and professors from different institutions- Jill Bouma of Berea College, Katherine Rowell of Sinclair Community College and Esther Wilder of Lehman College CUNY – who are well versed in integrating data-driven course exercises into a wide range of undergraduate courses.