CAUSE has held the United States Conference on Teaching Statistics (USCOTS) every other year since 2005. The 2027 USCOTS will be held on Thursday, June 24th to Saturday, June 26th at the Penn Stater in State College, PA, with pre-conference events starting on Tuesday, June 22nd. The conference theme is Constancy and Disruption.
USCOTS enables teachers of statistics and data science to exchange ideas and discover how to improve their teaching. Please consider submitting a proposal for an interactive breakout session, pre-conference workshop, posters-and-beyond contribution, or birds of a feather discussion topic. Each of these conference activities are described below along with links to submit proposals. Please address questions to program co-chairs Allan Rossman (arossman@calpoly.edu) or Kelly McConville (k.mcconville@bucknell.edu), or to CAUSE director Matt Beckman (mdb268@psu.edu).
Pre-conference Workshops
Pre-conference workshops provide an opportunity for extensive study of a topic and interaction among participants and presenters. Workshop durations range from a half-day to two days.
In the workshop proposal form, you will need to provide speaker information, desired workshop length, and a workshop description that includes an overview of the topic, goals of the session, intended audience, pre-requisite knowledge (if any, beyond being a teacher of introductory statistics), and any technology requirements for participants. You will also need to address how the session will be structured to provide engagement and the take aways for workshop participants. Please click on the "Submit Workshop Proposal" button for more details and character limits.
- Proposal deadline: December 15th, 2026
- Decisions are expected to be communicated by January 15th, 2027.
Breakout Sessions
Breakout sessions (75-minutes) provide interactive engagement among participants and presenters, on topics related to the conference theme of Constancy and Disruption.
In the breakout session proposal form, you will need to provide speaker information and a session description that includes an overview of the topic, specific goals of the session, intended audience, pre-requisite knowledge (if any, beyond being a teacher of introductory statistics), and any technology requirements. You will also need to address the session’s connection to the theme, how the session will be structured to build in interaction, and the overall goals of the session. Please click on the "Submit Breakout Proposal" button for more details and character limits.
If this is your first time submitting a breakout session proposal for USCOTS, we recommend perusing session descriptions from the previous USCOTS to get a better sense of the various ways these interactive sessions can be structured.
- Proposal deadline: December 15th, 2026
- Decisions are expected to be communicated by January 15th, 2027.
Posters-and-Beyond Sessions
The posters-and-beyond sessions provide an opportunity for conference participants to display a poster and/or to provide a small demonstration of their work, favorite examples, activities, and teaching methods.
In the posters and beyond proposal form, you will need to provide speaker information and a description. The description should provide an overall summary of the work and key takeaways. You will also need to specify your type of presentation: a poster only, a beyond only (which requires a table/space for an activity or demonstration), or both. Please click on the "Submit Posters-and-Beyond" button for more details and word limits.
- Proposal deadline: March 15th, 2027
- Decisions will be made on a monthly basis (for proposals submitted by the 15th of that month) and we will communicate decisions by the end of the month in January, February, and March. (For example, if you submit by February 15th, you will receive a decision by February 28th.)
Birds-of-a-Feather Discussions
USCOTS tries to provide opportunities for interaction and discussion among statistics and data science educators with similar interests. One mechanism for facilitating such conversations is a birds-of-a-feather discussion, in which people with similar interests gather over lunch to discuss a particular topic.
In the birds-of-a-feather proposal form, you will need to provide facilitator information, a discussion topic, and a brief discussion of the topic. Please click on the "Submit Birds-of-a-Feather Discussion Topic" button for more details and word limits.