Research Information System
Thesis Type: Postgraduate
Institution Of The Thesis: Gazi University, Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Turkey
Approval Date: 2025
Thesis Language: Turkish
Student: SEVİLAY ALTUN
Supervisor: Bilal Atasoy
Abstract:
The integration of digital technologies into
everyday life has led to a steady increase in the volume of generated data.
This surge has created a growing need to derive meaningful and functional
information from data, making data science a critical discipline. Developments
in the field of data science have also given rise to a new approach in the
educational context, bringing the concept of “data science education” to the
forefront. As nearly every human interaction today is closely linked to data
generation and the extraction of meaning from data, it is of great importance
for children to learn data-driven thinking from an early age. In this regard,
the necessity of integrating data science education not only into higher
education but also into the K–12 curriculum has emerged. The purpose of this
study is to determine the effect of data science education on middle school
students’ computational thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and
academic achievement. The study was conducted during the 2024–2025 academic
year with a total of 268 sixth-grade students enrolled in two different middle
schools located in the city center of Kırıkkale. An explanatory sequential
mixed-methods design was employed, incorporating both quantitative and
qualitative data analyses. In the quantitative phase, a pretest–posttest
control group experimental design was used. The experimental group received a
six-week data science training program based on the GAISE II framework. The
results indicate that data science education significantly improved students’ computational
thinking skills and academic achievement. While a positive increase was also
observed in problem-solving skills, the difference was not statistically
significant. Qualitative findings provided an in-depth understanding of
students’ perceptions regarding the learning process. Students reported that
data science education enhanced their cognitive skills such as problem-solving,
decision-making, planning, and data-driven thinking. The findings demonstrate
that data science education supports both cognitive and academic development at
the middle school level and suggest that integrating such education into the
K–12 curriculum would be beneficial.