Week 1-2: Introduction to Data Science
Lecture Topics:
What is Data Science?
Applications and Impact of Data Science
Setting Up Python Environment for Data Science
Interactive Activities:
Data Science Trivia Quiz: Kahoot-style quiz with questions about data science concepts,
history, and famous data scientists.
Python Code Pictionary: Teams take turns drawing Python code snippets on a shared
whiteboard and guessing the functionality.
Week 3-4: Data Wrangling and Cleaning
Lecture Topics:
Data Collection Techniques (Web Scraping, APIs)
Data Cleaning Strategies and Tools
Introduction to SQL for Data Manipulation
Interactive Activities:
Data Cleaning Race: Students compete to clean and prepare a messy dataset within a
time limit, with bonus points for creativity.
SQL Scavenger Hunt: Given a set of SQL queries, students search for answers within a
database to complete challenges.
Week 5-6: Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)
Lecture Topics:
EDA Techniques (Descriptive Statistics, Data Visualization)
Advanced Visualization with Plotly and Seaborn
Storytelling with Data
Interactive Activities:
Visualization Charades: Students act out data visualizations while others guess the type of
plot or chart being depicted.
Data Story Mad Libs: Fill in the blanks in pre-written data stories with insights gathered
from provided datasets.
Week 7-8: Machine Learning Fundamentals
Lecture Topics:
Supervised Learning (Regression, Classification)
Unsupervised Learning (Clustering, Dimensionality Reduction)
Model Evaluation Metrics and Techniques
Interactive Activities:
Algorithm Fashion Show: Teams dress up as different machine learning algorithms and
present their "features" and "predictions" in a playful manner.
Model Trading Card Game: Create trading cards for various ML models with attributes
like accuracy, speed, and complexity, and play a card game to understand model
strengths and weaknesses.
Week 9-10: Advanced Machine Learning Techniques
Lecture Topics:
Ensemble Learning (Random Forests, Gradient Boosting)
Hyperparameter Tuning and Model Selection
Introduction to Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Interactive Activities:
Hyperparameter Bingo: Students mark off hyperparameter values on bingo cards as they
learn about hyperparameter tuning techniques.
Sentiment Emoji Analysis: Analyze sentiment in text data using emojis and create a fun
visualization of sentiment trends.
Week 11-12: Deep Learning and Neural Networks
Lecture Topics:
Neural Network Basics
Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for Image Analysis
Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) for Time Series Data
Interactive Activities:
Neural Network Charades: Act out neural network layers and processes while others
guess the architecture being demonstrated.
Deep Learning Art: Use deep learning models to generate art and have an art exhibition
showcasing the generated pieces.
Week 13-14: Big Data and Cloud Technologies
Lecture Topics:
Introduction to Big Data Technologies (Hadoop, Spark)
Cloud Computing Platforms for Data Science
Real-time Data Processing and Streaming Analytics
Interactive Activities:
Big Data Treasure Hunt: Students follow clues related to big data concepts to find hidden
"treasure" (e.g., data insights, rewards).
Cloud Data Relay: Teams simulate a data pipeline relay race, where each team member
contributes to processing and analyzing data on a cloud platform.
Week 15-16: Capstone Project and Presentation
Project:
Capstone Project: Students propose and execute a data science project from start to
finish, incorporating concepts learned throughout the course.
Interactive Activities:
Project Showcase Fair: Set up booths for each capstone project where students present
their work using creative displays, demos, and interactive elements.
Data Science Escape Room: Create a themed escape room where students solve data
science puzzles and challenges to "escape" and showcase their problem-solving skills.
Assessment:
Feedback and points based on participation in interactive activities.
Peer evaluations for teamwork, creativity, and engagement in fun activities.
Reflective journals where students share their experiences and learnings from interactive
sessions.
