Postcards and Photo Walks: Telling Community Data Stories Through Photography

Representations of the health and resources of neighborhoods, particularly those made without a community’s input, can be misleading, and can perpetuate inequities. We designed and implemented a two-week-long grade 8 unit to explore how photo walks—an artsbased methodology that involves capturing and reflecting on photos along one’s walking route—can engage students critically with community data. We draw on a critical data literacy perspective, which views data as situated in social contexts and challenges the notion of data as neutral. Artifact analysis and post-unit interviews with two students revealed opportunities and challenges in supporting critical data literacy through planning and participating in photo walks.