Data Visualization for All course

Prof. Jack Dougherty, Trinity College, Hartford CT, USA

Fall 2025 Syllabus

Two sections of the course meet in person:

  • Mondays and Wednesdays 10-11:15am in Seabury N215, School Finance Equity project (Educ 206-02, TCOnline code 3498)
  • Mondays and Wednesdays 11:30-12:45pm in Seabury S205, project: School Based Health Centers project (Educ 206-01, TCOnline code 2281)

Instructors

Course description: How can charts and maps tell meaningful stories? How can they mislead us from the truth? In this introductory hands-on course, we will create data visualizations in order to better understand design principles and develop a critical analysis of the field. Students will learn skills in both quantitative reasoning and digital storytelling as we advance from beginner tools to editing code templates. For the community learning component, our class will build interactive charts and maps on a public policy issue with a Hartford-area partner organization. No coding experience is necessary, but curiosity is required.

  • Fulfills Numerical and Symbolic Reasoning (NUM) requirement.
  • Fulfills Research Methods requirement for Ed Studies majors.
  • Cross-referenced with Public Policy & Law (for empirical elective in the major, and education and urban policy concentrations), Urban Studies, Community Learning (for Community Action minor), Rhetoric and Writing.
  • Enrollment limited to 19 students.

Community Learning Projects

Each section partners on a data project with a Hartford or CT organization:

MW 10:00 - School Finance Equity

Our partner is Melanie Strout (Community Engagement Manager) from the School + State Finance Project. We will create data stories to visualize answers to questions raised in a recent article by CT Insider journalists Alex Putterman and Natasha Sokoloff: How much do Connecticut public schools spend per student in comparison to other states? How does spending vary across Connecticut districts? How does spending vary by cost of living in other states? How does the source of spending (local, state, or federal funds) vary across CT districts and compare to other states? To what extent does school spending address varying student needs across CT districts? Also, Michael Morton (Deputy Executive Director) will serve a guest evaluator of our final projects.

Intro video for School + State Finance Project, Fall 2025

MW 11:30 - School Based Health Centers

Our partners are Melanie Wilde-Lane (Executive Director) and Isabel Gonillo (Program Assistant) from the Connecticut Association for School Based Health Centers, also known as CASBHC. Their nonprofit organization advocates for medical, dental, and mental health services that are provided in over 300 public schools across the state. They have asked us to create data stories to help them answer questions such as: How does access to these health centers vary by family income and school district funding? How does free preventive care improve long-term health outcomes and reduce government costs for emergency room visits? Also, our guest evaluator will be Victoria Asfalg, Trinity ‘23, Policy and Data Analyst at Open Communities Alliance, an Urban Studies major who previously served as a TA for this course.

Intro video for CT Association of School Based Health Centers project, Fall 2025

Course Materials and Tools

book covers

  • Two open-access books are freely available online (or you can purchase print editions).
  • Bring a laptop computer (Mac, Windows, or Chromebook) to every class. Install more than one browser (such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome) for testing purposes. Tell me if you need a temporary laptop loaner.
  • You will need to sign up for several free web services (such as Google Drive, Datawrapper, GitHub). See my list of recommended free digital tools in this course.

Learning Goals and Assessments

In this course you will demonstrate the knowledge and skills you have developed to meet 12 broad learning goals (with more specific sub-goals listed in the schedule further below):

  1. Strengthen Your Spreadsheet Skills
  2. Find and Question Your Data
  3. Clean Up Messy Data
  4. Make Meaningful Comparisons
  5. Chart Your Data
  6. Map Your Data
  7. Transform Your Map Data
  8. Edit and Host Leaflet Code on GitHub
  9. Detect Lies and Reduce Bias
  10. Explore Leaflet Map Code Templates
  11. Tell and Show Your Data Story
  12. Embed on the Web

Your progress toward these learning goals will be assessed in three ways:

A. Open-Book Weekly Quizzes

  • The purpose is to demonstrate your knowledge and skills through questions that emphasize conceptual understanding and how to apply it in new contexts. You will have more than one opportunity to successfully complete each quiz while working independently with your notes, readings, and any web resources.
  • Each week, select any 2-hour period during the quiz window (typically a four-day window from Wednesday afternoon to Sunday 9pm) to complete a Moodle quiz of around 5 questions on the designated learning goal. You may see different versions of questions than other students, but all questions address the same goal.
  • Students can make at least two quiz attempts during the typical four-day window. Short-answer questions will be scored automatically by the computer, and show-your-work questions will be scored manually by the instructor. If you respond incorrectly to an auto-scored question, the quiz will offer advice and allow you to try again. If you respond incorrectly to a manually-scored question, the instructor will offer advice via email or a meeting and allow you to try again before the quiz window closes, if sufficient time remains.
  • HINT: Start your quiz by Friday 12 noon if you want to receive the instructor’s feedback on show-your-work questions before the quiz window typically closes on Sunday 9pm. If you wait until the last minute and don’t start your quiz until Saturday or Sunday, you may not receive feedback from the instructor in time to do a second attempt.
  • Before you start the quiz, prepare by reading assigned chapters, doing practice exercises, and discussing the material with classmates who have not yet started it.
  • When you start the typical 2-hour quiz period, you may use your materials (including your notes, the online book, and any Internet content or tools), but you must work independently and you may not communicate about the quiz content in any way (except with the instructors) until the quiz has closed. See the Intellectual Honesty and Artificial Intelligence policy further below.
  • If you do not begin a quiz or demonstrate sufficient effort during the quiz window, a 20 percent late penalty will be deducted for every 12-hour period beyond the deadline. Exceptions are granted only for documented health or family emergencies.
  • 12 learning goals x 5 points per quiz (but no quiz for Goal #11) = 55 points

B. Building Data Stories

  • The purpose is to show your original work in building different stages of data visualizations and written narratives that explain why and how it matters to our community partners. See the Intellectual Honesty and Artificial Intelligence policy further below.
  • Depending on the stage of the build, your work will be evaluated by the instructor, your peers, or guest experts, based on a rubric.
  • 8 stages x 5 points = 40 points. A 20 percent late penalty will be deducted for every 12-hour period beyond the deadline, with exceptions granted only for documented health or family emergencies.

C. Class Participation

  • The purpose is to encourage active learning and accountability. Each student begins the course with 5 participation points. During class, you may be randomly called on to discuss a concept in our reading, or to share your computer screen for everyone to view while we learn tools and build data stories. You do not necessarily need to know the correct answer. But if you are not present or not able to participate when called, one point will be deducted each time from your participation score.
  • Exceptions will be granted for any pre-scheduled absences (such as religious observations or any pre-planned events, if you email me at least one week ahead of time), or health or family emergencies (if you email me at least one hour before class). If you have health concerns that prevent you from attending class in person (such as Covid or other illness), email me at least one hour before class, and if feasible, request permission to participate remotely. Learning on Zoom is not as good as learning in real life, but it’s better than not attending at all. Last-minute requests will not be granted.

Summary

55 points quizzes + 40 points data stories + 5 class participation = 100 total points. In this course, unsatisfactory work (below 70%) falls in the D or F range, adequate work (70-79%) in the C range, good work (80-89%) in the B range, and outstanding work (90 to 100%) in the A range. Each range is divided into equal thirds for minus (-), regular, and plus (+) letter grades. For example, 80 to 83.33% = B-, 83.34 to 86.67 = B, and 86.68 to 89.99 = B+. Access your individual assessments on the password-protected Moodle site for this course at https://moodle.trincoll.edu.

Intellectual Honesty and Artificial Intelligence

  • You are responsible for following the Intellectual Honesty policy as described in the Trinity Student Handbook.
  • Artificial intelligence tools are not prohibited in this course, but think carefully before using any technology that might interfere with your learning. Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT by OpenAI or Claude by Anthropic, can be helpful for repetitive coding tasks or proofreading paragraphs you’ve already composed. But LLMs also create plausible-sounding text with invented facts and bad calculations. LLMs also raise ethical questions about unpaid labor, energy usage, harmful biases, and safety for humanity. Don’t cheat yourself out of an education by substituting LLM-generated responses in place of authentic learning.
  • For online quizzes, you may use your materials (including your notes, the online book, and any Internet content or tools), but you must work independently and you may not communicate about the quiz content in any way (except with the instructors) until the quiz has closed. If any doubts arise, the instructor may require you to show your work, retake a quiz under direct supervision, or refer a case to the Honor Council.
  • For build assignments, You (and your partner) are expected to create all original content (text and visualizations), with proper citations to any paraphrased or quoted text written by others, image credits to any visuals produced by others, and a methods section that describes all tools used and how. If any doubts arise, the instructor may require you to show your work, or independently reproduce content under direct supervision, or refer a case to the Honor Council.

Academic accommodations

Please notify me before our third class session, and schedule an appointment on my calendar to discuss how we will implement your approved plan. For those students with accommodations approved after the start of the semester, a minimum of 10 days’ notice is required. Learn more at the Student Accessibility Resource Center.

How to Succeed in this Course

  • Bookmark this online syllabus and check it for important updates, which will appear in bold.
  • Keep a calendar (paper or digital) to manage your time and meet deadlines.
  • Bring a laptop (with a fully-charged battery) to every class, and turn off distractions to help you (and others) focus on learning. Set notifications on digital devices to “Do Not Disturb.”
  • Use a password manager to keep track of your digital accounts. See my introduction to Bitwarden, an open-source password manager with free core features for Windows/Mac/Linux computers, all major web browsers, and iOS and Android mobile devices.
  • Take initiative and ask questions: during or after class, via email, or by appointment on my calendar. If you don’t understand something, other students probably are puzzled, too. Go ahead and ask.
  • Meet up with other students outside of class. Create a small study group to review the course material and work together. The secret to success in college is teaching yourselves how to learn new material.
  • If anything is interfering with your learning, email or talk with me. I care about how you’re doing in life, not just in our classroom.

Schedule

  • Both sections follow the same schedule, with exceptions marked for 10:00 vs 11:30
  • Important updates from the instructor will be marked in bold.

Wed Sept 3

  • Bring a laptop computer.
  • If you are enrolled but do not attend our first class, the Registrar will be instructed to drop you from the roster.
  • Foldable name cards: write your preferred first name on both sides, and on the inside, add a unique detail about yourself to help me remember your name. I will collect them at the end of each class.
  • Overview of the syllabus, Hartford community-learning partners, and past projects
  • Advice from TA on scheduling appointments and how to succeed in this course
  • Sample quiz about syllabus for 1-point bonus, with open-note format, due in class on Moodle
  • Fill out simple form to share the Google Drive username (aka Gmail address) that you will use for this course
  • Presentation: Why data visualization matters in the “disinformation age”. See Hands-On DataViz (HODV), Chapter 1 https://handsondataviz.org/introduction.html
  • In-class: What sparks your interest in this course? Anonymous free-write on shared Google Doc
  • About me: How did I learn about data visualization? Telling and showing hidden stories of housing and education inequality in On The Line book-in-progress
  • Strengthen your spreadsheet skills: Starting reading and working on sample exercises before our next class listed below.

Mon Sept 8

  • Before class, fill out quick survey about prior experience and education, then view 3000+ results in public sample dataset
  • Overview of Learning Goal #1: Strengthen Your Spreadsheet Skills, HODV Chapter 2 https://handsondataviz.org/spreadsheet.html
    • Spreadsheet terms, tools, and data formats
    • Download, Copy, Share, and Convert Google Sheets
    • Geocode locations
    • Sort and filter data
    • Calculate with formulas
    • Summarize with pivot tables
    • Match columns with VLOOKUP - TODO: update to XLOOKUP
  • Prep for Spreadsheet quiz, to be taken during any 2-hour period before Sun 9pm on Moodle.
  • Hint: Start your quiz by Fri 12 noon to ensure sufficient time for instructor feedback, as I might email you during the quiz window with advice on revising your quiz, but only if you start early! If you do not receive an email, check your Moodle gradebook to see if you earned full credit.
  • If you have questions about this week’s quiz, see our TA or schedule an appointment on my online calendar

Wed Sept 10

  • Before class, read background and write questions to prepare for today’s introductory Zoom meetings with community partners
  • 10:00 section
    • School+State Finance Project and CTInsider guest journalists on Zoom, 10:15-11am
    • Melanie Strout, TODO title
    • Alex Putterman and Natasha Sokoloff, TODO title
    • Build 0 questions TODO
    • read web pages TODO
    • read article TODO
  • 11:30 section
    • CT Association of School Based Health Centers on Zoom, 11:45-12:30
    • Melanie Wilde-Lane and Isabel Gonillo, titles
    • Alison MacDougall ‘26, Research Assistant and Community Learning Research Fellow
    • Build 0 questions TODO
    • read web pages TODO
    • read article TODO
  • In-class: Prepare and ask questions and take notes while meeting with community-learning partners on Zoom
  • Google Spreadsheet Skills Practice
  • Tip: Borrow or buy a $15 external mouse to right-click more easily on spreadsheets
  • A very personal “visual”ization, and why to say “hi” when you see me around campus
  • Open this week’s quiz on Moodle

Mon Sept 15

Wed Sept 17

  • Assign random pairs to Build 1: Listen, Find & Question Data. Paste the link to your co-authored starter Google Doc on our Build 1 page and share it so that anyone can comment before you leave the room. Due on Sun Sept 21st at 9pm (same deadline as the quiz, so plan ahead), worth 5 points.
  • Open this week’s quiz on Moodle

Mon Sept 22

  • Overview of Learning Goal #3: Clean Up Messy Data. Start reading HODV Chapter 4 at https://handsondataviz.org/clean.html
  • Smart Cleanup in Google Sheets
  • Find and Replace with Blank
  • Transpose Rows and Columns
  • Split Data into Separate Columns
  • Combine Data into One Column
  • Extract Tables from PDFs (instructor demo)
  • Prepare for Clean Up quiz, to be taken during any 2-hour period before Sun 9pm on Moodle

Wed Sept 24

  • Review pivot table skills
  • In-class: Social Explorer Tutorial to Download and Clean Census/American Community Survey for CT towns
    • What levels of US Census data are publicly available? See HODV chapter
    • How is US Census data “socially constructed”? See HODV chapter
  • Assign random pairs to Build 2: Find, Clean, Question, and Match Census Data. Write responses in your co-authored and publicly shared Google Document, and include the link to your co-authored and publicly shared Google Sheet. Due Friday Sept 26th at 5pm, worth 5 points.
  • Open this week’s quiz on Moodle

Mon Sept 29

  • Overview of Learning Goal #4: Make Meaningful Comparisons. Start reading HODV Chapter 5 at https://handsondataviz.org/comparisons.html
    • The big question: “Compared to what?”
    • Decipher common US phrases: “apples-to-apples comparison” and “don’t cherry-pick your data”
    • Practice how to Precisely describe comparisons in this Google Sheet
    • Normalize your data
    • Beware of biased comparisons
  • Prepare for Meaningful Comparisons quiz, to be taken during any 2-hour period before Sun 9pm on Moodle
  • Review Build 2
  • In-class tutorial to download and clean CT school district enrollment demographic data - TODO from EdSight or other
  • Assign random pairs to Build 3: Find, Clean, Question, and Match School District Data. Write responses in your co-authored and publicly shared Google Document, and include the link to your co-authored and publicly shared Google Sheet. Due Friday Oct 3rd 5pm, worth 5 points.

Wed Oct 1

  • Before class, read background materials and write questions for community partners and research assistants
  • 10am section
    • Read TODO
    • Write questions in Google Doc TODO
    • Discuss questions with Melanie Strout from School + State Finance Project on Zoom, 10:40-11:15
  • 11:30 section
    • Read TODO
    • Write questions in Google Doc TODO
    • Discuss questions with Alison MacDougall in person, TODO SET TIME
  • Overview of Learning Goal #5: Chart Your Data. Start reading HODV Chapter 6 at https://handsondataviz.org/chart.html
    • Chart types
    • Chart design principles and rules
    • Create bar/column, histogram, line, area charts
  • Assign random pairs to Build 4: Community Partner progress reports (TODO: specify). Start link to your co-authored Google Sheet, set to anyone can view, and insert on our Build doc. Due Monday Oct 6th at 9pm, worth 5 points.
  • Open this week’s quiz on Moodle

Mon Oct 6

  • Before class, create a free account on Datawrapper.
  • Continue overview of Learning Goal #5: Chart Your Data. Finish reading HODV Chapter 6 at https://handsondataviz.org/chart.html
    • Compare Datawrapper versus Google Charts
    • Review line versus area charts with Datawrapper
    • Create annotated, range, scatter charts with Datawrapper
  • Hint: When publishing your visualization, always test if your work is visible to the public by pasting the link in a private incognito window in your browser OR a second browser, without being logged into your tool account.
  • In class: Practice choosing the most appropriate chart type and design it
  • Early start due to Trinity Days: Open this week’s Chart Your Data quiz, to be taken during any 3-hour period before Suinday 9pm on Moodle. Plan ahead and budget your time because it contains 5 show-your-work questions and may require more time than you have spent on prior quizzes. Start your quiz by Friday 12 noon if you wish to receive feedback for a second attempt. If you have questions, visit our TA’s office hours or schedule an appointment on my calendar.

Wed Oct 8

  • Review Build 4 to prepare for next week’s Progress Report meetings with community partners
  • More practice for the challenging Chart Your Data quiz
    • What type(s) of charts are most appropriate for this question?
    • What challenges did you encounter when creating your chart?

Mon Oct 13

  • No class - Trinity Days

Wed Oct 15

  • Review Progress Reports with Community Partners
    • 10am section: School+State Finance Project on Zoom, 10:15-11am
    • 11:30 section: CT Association of School Based Health Centers on Zoom, 11:45-12:30
  • Brief review of Chart Quiz
  • No Moodle quiz this weekend

Mon Oct 20

  • Overview of Learning Goal #6: Map Your Data. Start reading HODV chapter https://handsondataviz.org/map.html
    • Map types: locator point and symbol point (choropleth will be in the next class)
    • Map design principles and rules
    • Practice using Datawrapper to create locator point and symbol point maps - TODO

Wed Oct 22

  • Continue overview of Learning Goal #6: Map Your Data, https://handsondataviz.org/map.html
    • Map type: choropleth (colored polygons)
    • Map design: choropleth colors and intervals
    • Normalize choropleth map data
  • Practice using Datawrapper to create choropleth maps - TODO
  • Prepare for 3-hour Map your Data quiz, due Sunday 9pm on Moodle. Start by Fri 12 noon to receive feedback in time for a second attempt.
  • Open this week’s quiz on Moodle

Mon Oct 27

  • Overview of Learning Goal #7: Transform Your Map Data. Start reading HODV Chapter 13 https://handsondataviz.org/transform.html
  • Start thinking about your preferences for final projects (Builds 5-8). Working in duos is strongly encouraged and priority will be given to students who wish to partner with another student. No more than two students per team, but some projects can be divided into coordinated separate teams (working on related questions and data, but graded separately). While you can choose to work solo, you will be held to the same expectations as a duo.

Wed Oct 29

  • Before class: create a free account on Github. Use a relatively short or simple username that you may wish to share professionally in the future.
  • Overview of Learning Goal #8: Edit and Host Leaflet Code on GitHub. Start reading HODV Chapter 10 https://handsondataviz.org/github.html
    • Analogy: GitHub Code Repository is like a public cookbook of recipes that you can modify, and GitHub Pages is like an oven that bakes your code into working public websites
    • Learn in class: Copy, Edit, and Host a Simple Leaflet Map
  • Open the Leaflet Code Editing quiz, to be taken during any 2-hour period by Sun 9pm on Moodle.
  • Submit your final project preferences (Builds 5-8) in a Google Form (TODO). Preference will be given to students who choose to partner and list each other’s names, with final decisions made by the instructor to balance numbers.

Mon Nov 3

  • Overview of Learning Goal #9: Detect Lies and Reduce Bias. Start reading HODV Chapter 14 https://handsondataviz.org/detect.html
    • How to Lie with Charts
    • How to Lie with Maps
    • Recognize and Reduce Data Bias
    • Recognize and Reduce Spatial Bias
  • Open this week’s quiz on Moodle

Wed Nov 5

  • Overview of Learning Goal #11: Tell and Show Your Data Story. Start reading HODV Chapter 15 https://handsondataviz.org/story.html
    • Build Narrative on a Storyboard
    • Draw Attention to Meaning
    • Acknowledge Sources and Uncertainty
  • Assign Build 5: Plan and Sketch Your Data Story by designated duos/solos, instead of a quiz for this learning goal. Before leaving the room, start your co-authored Google Doc, shared so that anyone can comment, and insert your link. Due by Monday Nov 10th 9pm, worth 5 points.
  • In-class workshop time to find, clean, and organize data for Builds 5-8, and small team meetings with instructors

Mon Nov 10

Wed Nov 12

  • Assign Build 6: Draft Your Data Story to designated authors. Tell a meaningful data story on your assigned question, at least 750 words plus at least two visualizations, for review by peers and instructors. Before leaving the room, start your co-authored Google Doc, with links to any co-authored Google Sheets, with screenshots and links to any published visualizations, and insert for anyone to comment on our Build doc. Due by Mon Nov 17th 9pm, worth 5 points.
  • In-class workshop time on Build 6, and small team meetings with instructors

Mon Nov 17

Wed Nov 19

  • Let’s support and coach each other to successfully complete our semester together
  • In-class: Assign peer reviews of Build 6 with Peer Evaluation Guide for participation credit during class. Students must have submitted a full draft in order to participate in the peer review. Choose either to type comments into a shared Google Doc or hand-write on paper, and share a copy with the instructor, who will will evaluate the quality of your constructive feedback.
  • Schedule a 20-minute Zoom appointment on my calendar for Thursday Nov 20th, Friday Nov 21st, or Monday Nov 24th. If working with a partner, both of you must attend the meeting at the same time to earn participation credit, so be sure to schedule the appointment together.
  • Assign Build 7: Data Stories for Dress Rehearsal with Peer Feedback. Prepare your penultimate draft and rehearse your presentation to classmates. Migrate all content from Google Doc to GitHub Pages format. Insert link to your published GitHub Pages template on our Build 7 doc. Due Tues Dec 2nd by 9pm (the second day back from Thanksgiving break), worth participation credit.

Mon Nov 24

  • In place of our regular class, 20-minute co-author Zoom meetings with instructor for Build 6 feedback, for participation credit.
  • Tips and resources to succeed on Build 7

Wed Nov 26

  • No class - Thanksgiving Break

Mon Dec 1

  • In class: Respond to supplemental student feedback questions on what helped you learn. In addition, please fill out the College’s standard online evaluation form when available.
  • Finish Build 7: Data Stories for Dress Rehearsal and Peer Feedback by Tues Dec 2nd at 9pm. Rehearse a 2-minute overview of highlights you plan to deliver to community partners and guest evaluators at our last class, worth participation credit.
  • Assign Build 8: Finalize Data Story for Community Partners and Guest Experts. After feedback from our community partners, finish any revisions to your Build 7 data story by Thursday Dec 4th at 9pm. There are no extensions because guest experts need time to read your work. Do not paste your link in Build 8. Instead, the instructor will make a “frozen” copy of your most current revisions to Build 7, republish it on the public Partners and Projects page, and paste those links in Build 8 to send to our guest experts to read before your presentations. Worth 10 points, scored by community partners and guest experts.
  • After this deadline, you are welcome to make further revisions to your version and email the instructor a request to “pull” your edits into the published version, but this might happen only after the guest evaluators have finished their work.
  • Decisions to make before your data story is “frozen” and published on DataVizForAll:
  • Keep in touch: See my Advising page on “How to request a reference or recommendation letter”
  • Feel free to schedule a Zoom appointment on my calendar for feedback on your build. If you are working with a partner, please arrange to meet me at the same time if feasible.

Wed Dec 3

  • In-class: Build 7: Data Story Dress Rehearsal. Deliver 2-minute presentation of highlights you will deliver to guest evaluators, and be prepared to respond to questions and feedback from classmates and instructors. Worth participation credit.
  • Reminder Build 8: Revise and Finalize Data Story is due Thursday Dec 4th at 9pm, and will be “frozen” and published for guest evaluators to review.
  • TODO Quiz #10

Mon Dec 8