Innovating Pedagogy for ethics in data

Our series of Innovating Pedagogy reports have consistently covered emerging approaches which can have an impact on educational landscapes. The intrinsic relationships that online experiences have in daily life has created a challenge of how individual data is stored, safeguarded and kept secure throughput aspects of society.

With data management and storage used by developing innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, tailored advertisement and filtered social media timelines, a central concern around data pertains to how individual data from online behaviours is stored and shared.

As outlined in the section on titled Engaging with Data Ethics from the Innovating Pedagogy report for 2020, IET have consider a range of ethical questions and practices around the issue including how students can be aware of the ethical challenges, tracking what happens when they share personal data or allow applications access to it.

We are aware that this is a growing topic and we will require greater research and expertise to develop engaging learning activities of this kind that any teacher would feel confident to undertake with their students.

Students can also build their understanding of data ethics by learning through open data. As outlined in our report, many organisations now make their data openly available so that it can be used by the public and educational institutions.

With further research into these areas our experts can develop a basis for learning activities that relate closely to students’ interests, inspiring them to understand how organisations work, impact their environment and society.

Further analysis of open data may allow our researchers to identify errors, biases or injustices that would not have been noticed otherwise. The aim of social justice pedagogy is to raise awareness of social injustices, biases and inequalities, and enable students to act on addressing these issues. Teachers might allow students to contribute to the design of their curriculum or produce content that explores and reflects on their own perspective, or the views of a marginalised or misrepresented group of people.

This approach is based on ideas of consciousness-raising and active involvement, which may drive new learning dynamics for educational systems and structures that emphasise a set curriculum and formal assessment.

Read our study on Engaging with Data Ethics in the 2020 Innovating Pedagogy report to learn more (PDF 1MB).