Article
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Teaching Data Science with Literate Programming Tools
Version 1
: Received: 26 July 2023 / Approved: 26 July 2023 / Online: 27 July 2023 (10:31:08 CEST)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Birkenkrahe, M. Teaching Data Science with Literate Programming Tools. Digital 2023, 3, 232-250. Birkenkrahe, M. Teaching Data Science with Literate Programming Tools. Digital 2023, 3, 232-250.
Abstract
This paper presents a case study on using Emacs and Org-mode for literate programming in undergraduate data science courses. Over three academic terms, the author mandated these tools across courses in R, Python, C++, SQL, and more. Onboarding relied on simplified Emacs tutorials and starter configurations. Students gained proficiency after initial practice. Live coding sessions demonstrated the flexible instruction enabled by literate notebooks. Assignments and projects required documentation alongside functional code. Student feedback showed enthusiasm for learning a versatile IDE, despite some frustration with the learning curve. Skilled students highlighted efficiency gains in a unified environment. However, uneven adoption of documentation practices pointed to a need for better incorporation into grading. Additionally, some students found Emacs unintuitive, desiring more accessible options. This highlights a need to match tools to skills levels, potentially starting novices with graphical IDEs before introducing Emacs. Key takeaways include literate programming aids comprehension but requires rigorous onboarding and reinforcement; Emacs excels for advanced workflows but has a steep initial curve. With proper support, these tools show promise for data science education.
Keywords
Data Science; Literate Programming; Teaching, Emacs; Org-mode; IDE; Case Study
Subject
Computer Science and Mathematics, Other
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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