#486: Elementary Students’ Voices on Embodied, Emotional, and Lived Experiences of Learning Data

This study investigates how elementary students’ data literacy is shaped through the entanglement of embodied, emotional, and lived experiences in working with data. Drawing on post-interviews with fifth graders who participated in a five-day data curriculum, this analysis finds that students’ embodied, emotional, and lived experiences were deeply intertwined and shape how they understood, used, and valued data by assigning it personal meaning that linked their past, present, and imagined future. Students’ reflection also demonstrated their perceived value of data as a rhetorical, problem-solving, life tool that supported persuasion, decision-making, daily practices, and livelihoods. These findings highlight the importance of designing data curricula that intentionally leverage embodied, emotional, and lived experiences to help students develop personally meaningful understanding and relationships with data.