What goes before the CART? Introducing classification trees with Arbor and CODAP

Abstract

This volume is largely about nontraditional data; this paper is about a nontraditional visualization: classification trees. Using trees with data will be new to many students, so rather than beginning with a computer algorithm that produces optimal trees, we suggest that students first construct their own trees, one node at a time, to explore how they work, and how well. This build‐it‐yourself process is more transparent than using algorithms such as CART; we believe it will help students not only understand the fundamentals of trees, but also better understand tree‐building algorithms when they do encounter them. And because classification is an important task in machine learning, a good foundation in trees can prepare students to better understand that emerging and important field. We also describe a free online tool—Arbor—that students can use to do this, and note some implications for instruction.