New Perspectives in Science Education
Data Science Education for Non-STEM Undergraduates: Alleviating Anxiety and Initial Evaluation of an Interactive Custom Digital Textbook
Toru Sugihara, Shukutoku University (Japan)
Yoshie Matsumoto, Shukutoku University (Japan)
Toshihiro Araki, Sapporo University (Japan)
Abstract
For undergraduate students in non-STEM disciplines (e.g., humanities, social sciences, and social welfare), learning data science often presents significant psychological and technical barriers, commonly referred to as "data science anxiety." To help non-STEM novices overcome these hurdles and cultivate practical data literacy from a "zero-base" level, an interactive custom digital textbook was developed and implemented in a university-wide introductory data science course[1]. This study presents a preliminary evaluation of the textbook's educational impact based on a survey conducted among enrolled non-STEM undergraduates (N=20). Descriptive analysis of the survey responses revealed that students highly evaluated specific digital features, particularly the embedded video tutorials for software operations (Excel and Tableau) and direct URL links to official open data sources[2] [3] [4]. Respondents also indicated strong agreement regarding the readability of text on screen and ease of system access. Furthermore, a large majority of students reported high overall satisfaction with the digital textbook. Based on both quantitative ratings and qualitative student feedback, this report explores how interactive digital textbooks can effectively ease anxiety and foster accessible data science learning among non-STEM novices in higher education.
Keywords: digital textbook, data science, statistical analysis, student acceptability, non-STEM, interactive features
REFERENCES
[1] Sugihara, T., Matsumoto, Y., & Araki, T. (2026). Developing a Digital Textbook for Statistical Analysis: Enhancing Data Science Education with Visualization and Open Data. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference New Perspectives in Science Education.
[2] Tableau, Data Visualization Software, https://www.tableau.com/
[3] e-Stat, Portal Site of Official Statistics of Japan, https://www.e-stat.go.jp/
[4] RESAS, Regional Economy and Society Analyzing System, https://resas.go.jp/
