An Intro Data Science course is setting the foundation for students to engage in the research process
What is Quarto
What is Quarto
(a)
(b)
Figure 1: Code (a) to Document (b)
Research and Reprodicibility
Since the growing use of computational workflows…
– In the 1990s, Jon Claerbout launched the “reproducible research movement
– In the 2000s and 2010s, several high-profile journal and general media publications focused on concerns about reproducibility…
Research and Reprodicibility
– Reproducibility tool <==> Research Process
Quarto <==> Data Science
… serious errors in interpretation reported results
Reproducibility: Why This Matter
Crisis: Lack of Trust in Science
Thus, Quarto isn’t something “extra” in a data science course…. it’s the foundation FOR it!
Argument for Quarto
Teaching reproducibility tools (such as Quarto) should not be viewed as an additional topic, but instead should be the foundation behind any introductory course to instill good habits for future researchers
Make reproducible research the norm rather than the exception
How
Quarto in Introductory Data Science
From the perspective of …
150 students with little to no statistics / data science / coding experience
Teaching using the dsbox curricula (cite)
Students are expected to use R
Topics include data visualization; data cleaning; data modeling
How
High level Suggestions
– Teach quarto code side-by-side with the other coding languages
– Make reproducibility an expectation
– Lean into what Quarto has to offer
Informative Syntax Completion
Visual and Source Mode
Informative Error Messages
More…
Quarto Tour
Quarto Tour
Quarto Tour
Quarto Tour
Quarto Tour
Informative Syntax and Completion
Informative syntax aligns with what you want to accomplish “how do I turn these messages off?”
Informative Syntax and Completion
Fig-height and width is as important as making the figure itself. It’s all learned together. “How do I adjust my figure width and figure height?”
Visual Tab
(a)
(b)
Figure 2: Source (a) to Visual (b)
Visual Tab
Highlight how coding can be more approachable in the visual tab
Gets students trained to think about and visualize professional documents throughout the process. Making this the expectation, and again not something additional
Errors
Highlight the approachability of Quarto error messages and how this can help alleviate some tension in an intro class
Examples of common errors and the error messages (Ask Mine)
