Webinars

This is the second webinar in a series designed for a broad audience of statistics and data science education researchers: young scholars beginning their research journeys, scholars from other disciplines interested in transitioning to statistics and data science education research, and existing statistics and data science researchers looking for new directions for their work.This session will focus on qualitative research: a family of "small n" research approaches that provide deep insights into human experience. An initial talk will provide an overview of qualitative research, followed by a discussant who will respond and add unique perspectives from the statistics education community. After the formal presentation and discussant contributions, there will be time for audience questions and related discussion.For reference, the prior webinars in this series are: What is Scholarship and Research in Statistics and Data Science Education? This webinar series is co-organized by CAUSE Research, the RSS Teaching Section, and Researchers of Statistics Education (RoSE) Network. Speaker Bio (Nicola Sochacka)Dr. Nicola (Nicki) Sochacka co-directs the ProQual Institute for Interpretive Research Methods, which builds capacity for high-quality qualitative and mixed methods research in STEM education. Drawing on the strengths STEM scholars bring to educational research—content expertise, teaching experience, and a drive for positive change—Nicki helps researchers design strategic, well-aligned studies through ProQual’s 9-week online course. This novel, person-centered program empowers participants to make informed decisions at every stage of the research process. Prior to founding the ProQual Institute, Nicki was Associate Director for Research Initiation at the Engineering Education Transformations Institute (EETI) at the University of Georgia. Supported by over $3.5M in NSF funding, her research explored empathy in engineering, the role of shame in identity development, arts-STEM integration, and innovative approaches to interpretive research. She is an experienced mentor, writing coach, and advisor who thrives on helping scholars design, publish, and propagate meaningful interpretive work. Discussant Bio (Kelly Findley)Kelly is a Teaching Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He earned a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Florida State University, focusing his dissertation on the disciplinary perspectives and experiences of graduate teaching assistants in statistics. Kelly primarily conducts qualitative research that seeks to capture rich examples of student thinking. He aims to create work that builds theory regarding both students' intuition about statistical concepts and students’ perspectives of the broader discipline.    

In this May edition of the JSDSE/CAUSE webinar series, we highlight the recent article Why Swipe Right? Career Interests and Aspirations of Incoming Statistics Majors. Undergraduate statistics programs can help students hone a wide range of quantitative, computational, and communicative skills as they prepare for a fruitful career. In this talk, the authors explore what motivates students to choose a major in statistics and to what extent incoming statistics majors recognize these wider skills as part of doing statistics. To build theories regarding what motivates students toward statistics, they interviewed nine first-year statistics majors at a large public university and analyzed their responses using a grounded theory approach. Each student shared their views of “who” statistics is to them, what kind of career they aspired to, and what prior experiences oriented them toward studying statistics. A strong, cross-cutting theme that emerged was that of balance. For example, statistics appeared as a safe and lucrative career choice that catered to their mathematical strengths, but it could also be an exciting career choice that stoked their imaginations. The authors also found that students had different perspectives and expectations about the role of mathematics and coding that may impact their experience in the major. Implications for introductory course curricula, the importance of projects, and outreach programs are discussed.Article Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26939169.2024.2430244

In this April edition of the JSDSE/CAUSE webinar series, we highlight the recent article A New Era of Learning: Considerations for ChatGPT as a Tool to Enhance Statistics and Data Science Education. ChatGPT is one of many generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools that has emerged recently, creating controversy in the education community with concerns about its potential to be used for plagiarism and to undermine students’ ability to think independently. This talk focuses on the potential of ChatGPT as an educational tool for statistics and data science. It encourages readers to consider the history of trepidation surrounding introducing new technology in the classroom, such as the calculator. The presenters explore the possibility of leveraging ChatGPT’s capabilities in statistics and data science education, providing examples of how ChatGPT can aid in developing course materials and suggestions for how educators can prompt students to interact with ChatGPT responsibly.Article Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26939169.2023.2223609 

In this March edition of the JSDSE/CAUSE webinar series, we highlight the recent article Studying the Opportunities Provided by an Applied High School Mathematics Course: Explorations in Data Science. The authors report on a multi-method study of a high school course in data science, finding that students who take data science take more mathematics courses than those who do not, there are more under-represented students in data science than is typical for other advanced mathematics courses; that the students who take data science are more positive about a future in STEM and they tend to be older. Analysis of writing from the students shows that students are very positive about the course, appreciating the relevance of the content, the opportunity to investigate ideas, the chance to learn challenging, applied content, and the opportunity to think creatively. In an assessment of data and functions given to students in data science and Algebra 2 courses, the students in data science scored at significantly higher levels.Article Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26939169.2024.2333735

 PANELISTS:   Dr. Jaya Satagopan, Rutgers School of Public Health, Rutgers University (moderator) Dr. Christine Arcari, Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University Dr. Justin Post, Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University Dr. Juan (Jay) Klopper, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington UniversityDATE/TIME: Tuesday, February 25, 2025, 3:00pm Eastern Time (US & Canada)VENUE: Online webinar hosted using the Zoom platformABSTRACT: In this dynamic panel webinar, explore how artificial intelligence (AI) could revolutionize the way statistics is taught in health sciences. From automating data simulations and creating adaptive learning environments to leveraging generative AI tools for personalized education, this session discusses methods to enhance both teaching efficiency and student engagement. Discussion topics will include: utilizing AI to design interactive statistical visualizations, automating repetitive tasks like data cleaning in student projects, implementing generative AI to support self-paced learning, and addressing ethical considerations and biases in AI-driven education tools. This webinar is ideal for educators, researchers, and professionals in health sciences who are curious about integrating AI to enrich their teaching practices.REGISTRATION: To register for the webinar, please complete this form:  https://uniofqueensland.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_77BxwrhuXvi8Z7gWe will send the Zoom link for the webinar to your email address the day before the webinar.  

This talk is designed for a broad audience of statistics and data science education researchers: young scholars beginning their research journeys, scholars from other disciplines interested in transitioning to statistics and data science education research, and existing statistics and data science researchers looking for new directions for their work. The talk will begin with a description of the types of research areas and questions of interest to the field of statistics and data education research. As time allows, we will consider how to move from interesting ideas to researchable questions and how to connect ideas to existing literature to maximise the potential of your research to move the field of statistics and data science education research forward. After the formal presentation and discussant contributions, there will be time for audience questions and related discussion. This webinar series is co-organized by CAUSE Research, the RSS Teaching Section, and Researchers of Statistics Education (RoSE) Network. Speaker bio: Dr Jennifer J Kaplan has been an active researcher in statistics and data science education since the early 2000s. She served as the Editor of Regular Papers for the Statistics Education Research Journal (SERJ) from 2018 – 2023 and has been an Associate Editor for the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education (JSDSE) since 2010. She is probably best known for her research in lexical ambiguity, studying the effects of the use of statistical terms that have competing meanings in everyday usage. In general, her research program combines learning in undergraduate statistics courses in HE with professional development of instructors of undergraduate students. Dr Kaplan is currently the Director of the PhD Program in Mathematics and Science Education (MSE) at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and lives within biking distance of the geographic center of the state of Tennessee. Discussant bio: Professor Rhys C Jones (Professor of Statistical Literacy) is an internationally recognised educational leader with extensive experience in curriculum development and theory, statistics education, and engaging students in small and large classroom settings (offline and online). Rhys is an International Statistical Institute Elected member, a member of both the Teaching Statistics Section and the Education Policy Advisory Group of the Royal Statistical Society, and a trustee of the Teaching Statistics Trust. He has held lecturing positions at Cardiff University, London Southeast College, and Birmingham City University. Over his career, he has taught in a variety of fields, at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including statistics, quantitative methods, mathematics for science, teacher training, research methods, biomedical science, nutrition and organic chemistry, health and well-being, and clinical anatomy and physiology. His primary research contributions are in the areas of curriculum development, randomness misconceptions, and the role of context in statistics education.    

In this February edition of the JSDSE/CAUSE webinar series, we highlight the recent article Generative AI for Data Science 101: Coding Without Learning To Code. Should one teach coding in a required introductory statistics and data science class for non-major students? Many professors advise against it, considering it a distraction from the important and challenging statistical topics that need to be covered. By contrast, other professors argue that the ability to interact flexibly with data will inspire students with a lasting love of the subject and a continued commitment to the material beyond the introductory course. With the release of large language models that write code, the authors saw an opportunity for a middle ground, which they tried in Fall 2023 in a required introductory data science course in their school’s full-time MBA program. In this webinar, the authors share their experience teaching students how to write English prompts to the artificial intelligence tool GitHub Copilot that could be turned into R code and executed.Article Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26939169.2024.2432397  

In this January edition of the JSDSE/CAUSE webinar series, we highlight the 2024 article Red Light Reaction – A Statistics Project with Real Life Application. The presenters describe a hands-on project in which students collect data on the impact of distracted driving on driver reaction time. Initially they do this in class via a virtual driving applet, using themselves and fellow students as test subjects. Different applet versions simulate driving with and without distraction and measure the time it takes to apply brakes after the red brake lights of the car ahead appear. Students use the collected data to practice a range of statistical techniques, such as assessing data for outliers, creating a hypothesis to be tested, performing an appropriate test, and then translating their results to determine a safe driving distance. In the second part of the project, students work in groups outside of class. Each group recruits a category of test subjects (e.g., athletes, video gamers, STEM majors) of their choosing, collects data, and performs statistical analysis. Finally, students develop hypotheses as to whether different categories of drivers have better or worse reaction times, collect additional relevant data, and perform the appropriate statistical test.Article Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26939169.2024.2407781  

This CAUSE webinar will feature a panel of experienced mentors who have successfully guided students in the Undergraduate Statistics Project Competition (USPROC). The panelists will share insights from their experiences mentoring award-winning student projects and discuss strategies for fostering student success in both classroom statistics projects and independent research. Attendees will receive practical advice on how to effectively mentor undergraduate students in research, including project development, data analysis, and communication of results, while inspiring a passion for statistics and research excellence.

In this December edition of the JSDSE/CAUSE webinar series, we highlight the 2024 article Using Grayscale Photos to Introduce High School Statistics Teachers to Reasoning with Digital Image Data. Statistics teaching at the high school level needs modernizing to include digital sources of data that students interact with every day. Algorithmic modeling approaches are recommended, as they can support the teaching of data science and computational thinking. Research is needed about the design of tasks that support high school statistics teachers to learn new statistical and computational approaches such as digital image analysis and classification models. Using their design framework, the authors describe construction of a task that introduces classification modeling using grayscale digital images. The task was implemented within a teaching experiment involving six high school statistics teachers. Their findings from this exploratory study indicated that the task design seemed to support statistical and computational thinking practices related to classification modeling and digital image data. Article Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26939169.2024.2351570