The Alexandria Archive Institute

OPENING THE PAST, INSPIRING THE FUTURE

Data Literacy Program

data visualization of field notebooksIn October 2020, the AAI launched a Data Literacy Program (DLP) with a grant from the Mellon Foundation and matching funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities through the AAI’s NEH Infrastructure and Capacity-Building Challenge Grant. The AAI’s Data Literacy Program aims to expand and diversify engagement with cultural heritage data by providing much-needed scaffolding to help professionals, students, and lifelong learners use existing research data. Mellon funding over three years supports two postdoctoral researchers with expertise in public engagement and reproducible research practices, in crafting open access “data stories” backed by deeper layers of open and reproducible analytic and visualization code, as well as primary research data. This approach will open doors to multiple levels of engagement with datasets, linking high-level narrative with the behind-the-scenes analytical and interpretive steps used to select, judge, filter, analyze, and visualize research data. 

Most students and museum visitors engage only with the visible tip of the iceberg of archaeological evidence. After moving through different levels of presentation, learners will be better equipped to engage in their own original research using open archaeological data. This will demonstrate how archaeological databases offer rich and largely untapped interpretive potential. 

The Data Literacy Program was developed by a team of postdoctoral researchers, L. Meghan Dennis and Paulina Przystupa.

Archaeological Data Literacy Practicum (October 2025)

The DLP proudly facilitated the Archaeological Data Literacy Practicum (ADLP) a professional development workshop created and hosted by the Alexandria Archive Institute/Open Context (AAI/OC). It built on the AAI/OC’s success cultivating data literacy amongst scholars in archaeology and related fields through open educational resources and guest lectures, providing 20-hours of training to a group of global professionals interested in archaeology.

Through synchronous online classes and asynchronous deliverables, participants in the ADLP workshop learned to read, work with, analyze, argue, and communicate with archaeological data. Under the guidance of AAI/OC staff, participants in this program created engaging, data-driven narrative products based on data created through the course of the practicum. Through the practicum, participants also:

  • Practiced and demonstrated their data literacy skills by building a portfolio of their accomplishments during the program. 
  • Connected with a community of peers and collaborators interested in cultivating their archaeological data literacy.
  • Met virtually several times with other participants and program faculty to learn about and discuss data literacy and digital skills.
  • Created and answered a research question based on co-created and cleaned data.
  • Shared their products with other practicum participants and facilitators for feedback and peer review to practice receiving and giving compassionate critique.
  • Presented their data-driven narrative product with others to develop communication skills.

In addition, the October 2025 Practicum involved evaluating the presented materials, formats, and videos for their efficacy in teaching data literacy to help improve future versions of the workshop. The 2025 cohort became co-creators of the practicum as their feedback will help revise the curriculum so that the AAI can continue to offer quality education opportunities that encourage everyone to cultivate their data literacy.

Applications for the ADLP closed on 1 September 2025. If you’d like to learn more about the Practicum, it’s goals, and meeting format, explore its website or read about it in the November 2024 of The SAA Archaeological Record.

Program-Related Communications and Resources:

Important Milestones

Digital Data Stories

Data Story Shorts

External Publications News

Sourcing Series

Series on Series

Data Story Definitions 

The Data Literacy Program Responds

AAI Reads

Quarterly Reports

Conferences, Presentations, Events, and More

Calls for Evaluation

The Data Literacy Program was developed with support from a National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Award and a grant from the Mellon Foundation (2021-2025). Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this work do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the Mellon Foundation.

Image Credit: “Figure 1” by Paulina F. Przystupa from “Data Literacy in Archaeological Education” by Paulina F. Przystupa (2026) in Advances in Archaeological Practice (https://doi.org/10.1017/aap.2026.10147) / CC BY.