#686: Exploring Spatiotemporal Data Through a Space-Time Cube Interface: Affordances and Struggles

Spatiotemporal (ST) data, data that vary across space and time, are at the heart of pressing, socially relevant issues, such as climate change, disease spread, and population trends. Adolescents regularly encounter such data in both school and everyday life, and they must develop the data acumen and habits of mind to successfully interpret them. However, ST data are inherently complex and challenging, even for experts, and research on how to best design ST visualizations to foster interpretation is limited. In this study, we explore how the affordances of two data exploration tools, the CODAP interface and a space-time cube (STC), both benefit and hinder students’ exploration of ST data. We found that students identified the value of being able to view ST data in the STC, pointing out how the STC contained more information, allowed for easier exploration of ST data, and allowed them to see time trends more clearly.