MetaData: A Tool to Supplement Data Science Education for the First Year Undergraduates

Abstract

In the Indian Universities, data science courses are offered to computer science undergraduates only in their higher semesters of under-graduation. Keeping in mind, the growing importance of data science, under-graduates need to be introduced to data science courses in their first year of under-graduation itself. Although first year undergraduates are furnished with the required mathematical and statistical concepts during their higher secondary education, a requirement of understanding sophisticated programming concepts hamstrings universities from offering courses in data science to first year undergraduates. As an outcome of our research, we propose a software named MetaData. MetaData abstracts all levels of implementation and helps students better understand the fundamental concepts in data science by observing the applicability of these concepts on real-world datasets. We justify the effectiveness of the tool through a data science classroom scenario, wherein 44 first year undergraduates were encouraged to use the tool and provide constructive feedback.