Story originally posted by the Office of Research, Innovation & Economic Development
Joshua Rosenberg bridges two emerging fields: data science education, which teaches students how to analyze and interpret data, and educational data science, which uses data science principles to improve educational outcomes. His work empowers teachers and students to use data and digital technologies to explore scientific questions in new and meaningful ways.
“Data is everywhere—in our communities, classrooms, and daily lives—but we’re still learning how to make the most sense of it, particularly for educational uses,” said Rosenberg, the Haslam Family Professor and an associate professor of STEM education. “My work focuses on helping teachers and students use data not just to find answers but to ask more meaningful questions and to better understand how scientific knowledge is built.”
Journey to UT
After receiving his PhD in educational psychology and educational technology from Michigan State University, Rosenberg was drawn to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, by the opportunity to teach and conduct research in both science education and educational technology. Now in his seventh year at UT, he teaches science methods courses for prospective science teachers and data science education courses for data analysts and researchers. His teaching and research are closely intertwined, focusing on how educators and learners can explore data to make scientific thinking more relevant and participatory.
Reimagining data analysis
Rosenberg is partnering with K–12 educators across Tennessee on Project CREDIBLE (Creatively Reimagining Engagement with Data in Biology Learning Environments), funded by the National Science Foundation, to help teachers and students engage with data in new ways using a Bayesian data analysis approach.
Rather than treating data as a source of absolute answers, the approach invites students to think in terms of probability, confidence, and evidence—skills that foster more nuanced scientific reasoning. The project integrates new technologies such as data visualization tools to make data analysis more accessible in everyday classrooms.
In one example, students sampled water quality data from a creek behind their school, analyzing the health of the waterway and communicating their findings to broader audiences with nuance and rigor.
“When students start thinking about data as degrees of confidence rather than right or wrong answers, it changes the way they engage with science,” Rosenberg said. “We’ve seen teachers make small shifts in how they talk about data, and those shifts can open up richer, more thoughtful conversations in the classroom.”
Rosenberg’s research extends beyond the classroom to issues around science education and educational technology policy. For instance, he explores how publicly available data like social media posts can illuminate trends in education policy and practice. His work has shown how positive online conversations help support reforms like the Next Generation Science Standards and how schools’ social media practices can raise questions about student privacy and data ethics.
Josh Rosenberg, Haslam Family Professor and associate professor of STEM education.
Establishing UT as a national leader
UT’s supportive and collaborative environment has been fundamental to Rosenberg’s success. When he arrived in 2018, few universities offered educational data science courses. With strong support from colleagues and leadership, he helped launch one of the first graduate certificate programs in the nation focused on data science in education—positioning UT as a national leader in an emerging field.
Rosenberg’s research has been supported by more than $9 million in federal funding, including a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and co-authored the e-book Data Science in Education Using R (Routledge), which has been accessed more than 250,000 times. Most recently, he served as a committee member for Developing Competencies for the Future of Data and Computing: The Role of K–12, a consensus study conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to advance national conversations about the K–12 curriculum and the place of data science and artificial intelligence within it. He serves as associate editor of the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education and on the editorial boards of several other leading journals.
Rosenberg hopes to expand opportunities for community-engaged data science education, connecting data science students with nonprofits, schools, and government organizations. He’s also developing educational technologies that make complex data analysis approachable for all learners. From sports-based data projects that help youth connect data to real-world interests to AI tools that guide users through datasets, his work embodies UT’s mission to use research and education to benefit communities across Tennessee and beyond.
“I want to help students see data as something they can use to make a difference—whether that’s addressing a local issue, exploring something they’re passionate about, or improving the world around them,” he said. “When students realize that data can tell meaningful stories, they start to see that learning science can be relevant and even empowering to them.”