Faculty Collaboration Results in New Student Projects

Math and art might seem like two vastly different subjects, but when Jon Fortmiller spoke recently at a faculty meeting about the art department’s theme of storytelling, math teacher Arty Smith saw a unique opportunity for cross-department collaboration. 

Mr. Smith’s Intro to Data Analytics students were getting ready to work on a project analyzing global temperatures over time. So to change things up this school year, he invited his colleague to bring an artistic, storytelling component to the assignment. Mr. Fortmiller visited the class and spoke to students about posters—sharing popular historical examples and highlighting how the most noteworthy poster advertisements use imagery and strong messaging to capture a viewer’s attention. 

And thus, a new project was created. Students were asked to analyze rising sea or air temperatures over time and then create a visual data set—in the form of a digital or printed poster that tells a story and provides a call to action for the reader. 

“Data Science, by its nature, is highly contextual and interdisciplinary,” Mr. Smith said. “The best projects require both technical precision and a holistic understanding of the topic. I am very lucky to have brilliant colleagues who are eager to collaborate and share their expertise. We bring out the best in each other, and our students are the beneficiaries.”

This assignment is one of many data analysis projects these juniors and seniors will be working on this school year, with a variety of upcoming topics that include the mathematics behind the movie Moneyball, NFL win probability, pitcher tendencies in Major League baseball, predictive data about the upcoming election and more!