Please join us for the next CAUSE webinar Tuesday, May 27th at 4:00PM ET.
Title: What makes a good statistical question?
Presenters: Pip Arnold (New Zealand) & Chris Franklin (ASA K-12 Statistics Ambassador/ASA Fellow/UGA Emerita)
Date and Time: Tuesday, May 27, 2021
Abstract: In the April CAUSE/Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education webinar series, we discuss "What Makes a Good Statistical Question?" with Pip Arnold & Christine Franklin, the co-authors of a forthcoming paper in JSDSE (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26939169.2021.1877582). The statistical problem-solving process is key to the statistics curriculum at the school level, post-secondary, and in statistical practice. The process has four main components: Formulate questions, collect data, analyze data, and interpret results. The Pre-K-12 Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between a question that anticipates a deterministic answer and a question that anticipates an answer based on data that will vary, referred to as a statistical question. This paper expands upon the Pre-K-12 GAISE distinction of a statistical question by addressing and identifying the different types of statistical questions used across the four components of the statistical problem-solving process and the importance of interrogating these different statistical question types. Since the publication of the original Pre-K-12 GAISE document, research has helped to clarify the purposes of questioning at each component of the process, to clarify the language of questioning, and to develop criteria for answering the question, "What makes a good statistical question?" Pip Arnold is a statistics educator who also sometimes masquerades as a mathematics educator. Her continuing interests include statistical questions, working to support with K-10 teachers in developing their statistical content knowledge and looking at ways to authentically integrate statistics across the curriculum. Pip has been developing a teacher's resource to support the teaching of statistics from K-10 for New Zealand teachers, based on the PPDAC statistical enquiry cycle that is the basis of statistical problem-solving in New Zealand. Christine (Chris) Franklin is the ASA K-12 Statistics Ambassador, an ASA Fellow, and UGA Emerita Statistics faculty. She is the co-author of two introductory statistics textbooks, chair for the ASA policy documents Pre-K-12 GAISE (2005) and Statistical Education of Teachers (2015), and co-chair for the recently published Pre-K-12 GAISE II. She is a former AP Statistics Chief Reader and a past Fulbright scholar to NZ, where she and Pip began having many conversations about the role of questioning in the statistical problem-solving process.
Registration link: https://psu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0gjOKtGuQ3iws_BCI6egtA<https://psu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sVBPlOp9QXWLi7SxwcBIMw>
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Building a New Community.
The Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE)<https://www.causeweb.org/cause> will host the inaugural CAUSE Research Satellite on July 6, 2021. The goal of this 3-hour virtual symposium is to build community among statistics education researchers, discuss the current state and future priorities for undergraduate statistics education research in the United States, and identify how CAUSE can better support statistics education research (e.g., provision of sustainable infrastructure, mentoring & research clusters, support for diversity, equity, & inclusion).
Who Should attend?
Anyone who is interested in statistics education research. All are welcome, including current researchers, new researchers, graduate students, and those interested in the future of statistics education research*.
When and Where?
When: Tuesday, July 6, 12p-3p (ET)
Where: Virtually, via Zoom
Register Now.
To register for the inaugural CAUSE Research Satellite, please fill out this short survey<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeo6NlZEhxhvrdK7h3TGuSaWkoxbZvmY47…>.
*The focus of this symposium is on research in the undergraduate setting but we welcome all to the conversation.
Call for papers: Teaching reproducibility and responsible workflow (Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education)
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnhorton.p…
Modern statistics and data science utilizes an iterative data analysis process to solve problems and extract meaning from data in a reproducible manner.
Models such as the PPDAC (Problem, Plan, Data, Analysis, Conclusion, https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdataschoo…) Cycle have been widely adopted in many pre-secondary classrooms.
The importance of the data analysis cycle has also been described in guidelines for statistics majors, https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amsta…p;reserved=0, undergraduate data science curricula, https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdstf.acm.o…p;reserved=0, and data science courses, e.g., https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fr4ds.had.…p;reserved=0.
The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine's 2018 "Data Science for Undergraduates" consensus study, https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnas.org%2…p;reserved=0, identified the importance of workflow and reproducibility as a component of data acumen needed in our graduates.
The NASEM report reiterated that "documenting, incrementally improving, sharing, and generalizing such workflows are an important part of data science practice owing to the team nature of data science and broader significance of scientific reproducibility and replicability."
They also noted that reproducibility and workflow raised important questions about the ethical conduct of science.
These reports identify the need for students to have multiple experiences with the entire data analysis cycle.
However, many challenges exist:
1. technologies are rapidly evolving
2. few faculty were trained in the use of these methods
3. best practices have not been clearly identified
4. insufficient vetted and inclusive curricular materials are available
5. accounting for student heterogeneity and broadening participation
6. many aspects of student understandings in this area are unknown
To highlight work in this important and developing area, the *Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education* is inviting submission of papers related to "Teaching reproducibility and responsible workflow" to appear in a forthcoming issue.
## Sample topics (non-exhaustive)
- Teaching workflows and workflow systems
- Fostering reproducible analysis
- Promoting reproducibility as a component of replicability and scientific conduct
- Developing and implementing documentation and code standards
- Incorporating source code (version) control systems
- Supporting collaboration
- Integrating ethics
- Conducting effective formative and summative assessment
Submissions at all levels of education (primary through graduate programs and continuing education) and disciplines (social sciences, digital humanities, and STEM) are encouraged.
## Timetable
- May 2021 (call for submissions)
- September 1, 2021 (call for reviewers)
- September 15, 2021 (deadline for submissions via the *Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education* submission site https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmc.manusc…p;reserved=0, please select the "Teaching reproducibility and workflow" option)
- July 2022 (proposed publication date)
Papers received after September are in scope and will be considered as regular submissions.
## About the journal
The *Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education* is an open-access peer-reviewed journal with no author fees that is published by Taylor and Francis and the American Statistical Association.
Articles accepted for publication are promptly made available online and featured on the journal website (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tandf…);reserved=0).
Questions about submissions or the timeline? Please contact Nicholas Horton (Amherst College, JSDSE Incoming Editor).
Nicholas Horton
Beitzel Professor of Technology and Society (Statistics and Data Science)
Amherst College
If you receive this outside of your working hours, it is because I am working flexibly in a way that works for me. I respect other working patterns and don’t expect replies outside working hours.
The ASA Section on Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences (TSHS) is excited to present our Summer 2021 webinar. Our speaker will be Dr. Michael D. Swartz of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, presenting ideas for building rubrics and flipping classrooms.
The webinar is FREE and open to all. Details and registration information are below.
TITLE: "Rubrics and flipped classrooms: What are they and how do they work in biostatistics classes?"
PRESENTER: Michael D. Swartz, PhD – Department of Biostatistics and Data Science at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
DATE/TIME: Friday June 11, 2021, @ 2pm EST
VENUE: Online webinar hosted using the Zoom platform
ABSTRACT: The idea of developing a rubric for assessments or flipping lectures in an Applied Biostatistics (or even Applied Statistics) classroom can be overwhelming, but it does not have to be. I will lead a discussion introducing several ideas for building a rubric for statistics assignments and exams, and flipping parts of a lecture to combine traditional lecture with interactive components to fully engage students to enhance their learning in the classroom or live synchronous sessions (like teaching through Webex or Zoom) using polling software like PollEverywhere. The polling software strategy I introduce will also provide instructors real-time feedback regarding students’ current comprehension of the material. One of the techniques can also be modified to increase engagement for an online only format (pre-recorded lectures). Attendees who consider themselves beginners with respect to rubrics or flipped classrooms as well as those who consider themselves more experienced are welcome to this webinar.
REGISTRATION: To register, please complete the form here: https://redcap.hfhs.org/redcap/surveys/?s=4WH8JJ9KYH<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fredcap.hf…>
The webinar link will be sent to you in a confirmation email after registering, and a link to the webinar recording will be sent to you about a week after the session.
--
Heather J. Hoffman, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
Milken Institute School of Public Health
The George Washington University
800 22nd Street, NW (7th Floor)
Washington, DC 20052
Phone: (202) 994-8587
Fax: (202) 912-8475
The fourth VOICES (Virtual Ongoing Interdisciplinary Collaborations on Educating with
Song) conference will be held Sunday, September 26, 2021 featuring a keynote presentation by acclaimed science communicator Raven “the Science Maven” Baxter (https://scimaven.com) and a bonus presentation by entrepreneur and cognitive psychologist Lana Israel (https://muzology.com).
Call for proposals:VOICES explores the use of music to teach STEM content at the secondary or post-secondary level and will include reviewed video posters and interactive sessions of interest to both practitioners and researchers. For full consideration, a presentation proposal should be submitted by July 1 at https://www.CAUSEweb.org/voices/2021/proposals.
For inspiration, check out any of the approximately 100 presentations from the three previous VOICES conferences archived for viewing at https://www.CAUSEweb.org/voices/, which have wide-ranging topic areas including research/theory, song parodies, music videos, informal learning and outreach, STEM songwriting, and student songwriting. VOICES especially aims for presentations whose takeaway insights cut across setting and discipline.
The use of song or songwriting can be a powerful strategy for learning content for many reasons, such as its community-building appeal to emotion and its capacity to synthesize and present information in concise memorable form (see, for example, https://www.CAUSEweb.org/voices/resources/teaching). These features have become increasingly important in this pandemic age. Please put VOICES 2021 on your calendar and help make our voices heard!
To join the VOICES mailing list, or for more information on VOICES 2021, email VOICES2021(a)CAUSEweb.org
Don’t forget to register for USCOTS here<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cause…>.
Wait, what is USCOTS? The United States Conference on Teaching Statistics, held in odd-numbered years since 2005. The 2021 USCOTS will be held virtually on June 28 - July 1, with pre-conference workshops beginning on June 24.
What’s that? We lost you at that ”v” word - virtually? You’re sick and tired of sitting in front of a screen? Oh, we get it. So, why should you sit in front of a screen for more hours to attend USCOTS? Here are six reasons:
1. There are lots of conferences about statistics and lots of conferences about teaching, but very few conferences are devoted entirely to the topic of teaching statistics. If you like teaching statistics, enjoy interacting with others who do, and want to exchange ideas for improvement in this wonderful and challenging profession, this is a can’t-miss conference.
2. The theme is timely and important: Expanding Opportunities. We can help more students to succeed in statistics and prepare for careers that use data. We can also help statistics to appeal to a more diverse group of students. We can also expand opportunities within our own profession of statistics teachers and statistics education researchers. Come to USCOTS to share ideas for achieving these goals.
3. We have a great lineup of presenters and topics. We especially recommend the keynote panel discussion on “Expanding Horizons and Fostering Diversity.” See the full program here<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cause…>.
4. Most of the sessions are designed to be interactive, including breakouts and posters & beyond sessions. We’re also excited about a speed mentoring session and birds-of-a-feather discussions (see more below). Again, see the full program here<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cause…>.
5. The price is right: The $25 registration fee covers all four days of the conference and three days of pre-conference workshops. That’s less than $4 per day, less than $1 per hour! We assure you that you will get your money’s worth. If the $25 is a burden, registration waivers are available. Again, you can register here<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cause…>.
6. Our goal is for every session to be practical, thought-provoking, and fun. Achieving just one of those goals per session would make the conference worthwhile.
The speed mentoring session is a great opportunity for newer statistics teachers and statistics education researchers to meet some more experienced folks. We are looking for both mentors and mentees who are willing to participate; please sign up here<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.gle…> by June 18. This is only a half-hour commitment, as the session will take place on Wed June 30 from 11:15 - 11:45am ET.
We are also asking for folks to lead a birds-of-a-feather discussion on a topic of your choice. Please submit a proposal here<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cause…> by May 31. This is also a half-hour commitment, a great opportunity to meet and chat with a diverse group of people with similar interests.
Finally , please check out a musical invitation to participate here<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%…>, and help to spread the word about USCOTS, including with the hashtag #USCOTS21 on social media.
Here is the link to the main USCOTS webpage: www.causeweb.org/cause/uscots/uscots21<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cause…>. Please send questions to program co-chairs Allan Rossman (arossman(a)calpoly.edu<mailto:arossman@calpoly.edu>) and Kelly McConville (mcconville(a)reed.edu<mailto:mcconville@reed.edu>), or to CAUSE director Dennis Pearl (dkp13(a)psu.edu<mailto:dkp13@psu.edu>).
We look forward to seeing you at USCOTS!
Teaching Statistics vs. Data Science in Grades K-12?
Wednesday, May 19, 2021, 11:00 am - 12:45 pm ET
Where do YOU stand?
* How to define statistics education and data science education in grades K-12? Statistics or data science?
* Is statistics and data science education too ambitious a goal to pursue in grades K-12, for both the students and teachers?
* Has K-12 statistics and data science education been successful so far? By what measures?
* Can data sense, or data acumen, be trained well at K-12 or even younger? Are there any unique challenges and benefits of developing data acumen in K-12?
* Small datasets or big data for teaching and practice at this level?
If you are intrigued by these questions and have an interest in how these questions might be answered - one way of the other – then this is the event for you!
Want to get a sense of the thinking behind the practicality (or not) of various educational approaches? Interested in hearing both sides of the story – during the same session!?
This event is hosted by NISS and will be held in a debate type of format. The participants will be given selected questions ahead of time so they have a chance to think about their responses, but this is intended to be much less of a presentation and more of a give and take between the debaters.
So – let’s have fun with this! The best way to find out what happens is to register and attend!
https://www.niss.org/events/statistics-debate-ii-teaching-statistics-vs-dat…<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.niss.…>
Glenn Johnson
Web Communications
National Institute of Statistical Sciences
The Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education is happy to announce our 60th Cartoon Caption Contest – now ongoing every month for a full five years! Each month a cartoon, drawn by British cartoonist John Landers, is posted for you and your students to suggest statistical captions (cartoons are posted at the beginning of the month and submissions are due at the end of the month). The caption contest is offered as a fun way to get your students thinking independently about statistical concepts.
The next cartoon and the entry rules for the contest ending May 31 are at
https://www.causeweb.org/cause/caption-contest/may/2021/submissions<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cause…>
The best captions will be posted on CAUSEweb and the winner(s) will receive their choice of a coffee mug or t-shirt imprinted with the cartoon and their caption.
Enjoy.
April Results: The April caption contest featured a cartoon showing a man holding up a baby on the ledge of a mountain reminiscent of the way Simba is held in the famous “circle of life” scene at the beginning of the Disney cartoon movie Lion King. The winning caption for the April contest was “From the people who brought you ‘Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo Simulation,’ ‘Honey, I Regressed the Kids,’ and ‘Angels in the Outlierfield,’ get ready for an instant classic, ‘The Line King!’” written by Christopher Jay Lacke from Rowan University. Christopher’s caption can be used to introduce a variety of issues in the regression setting. An honorable mention this month goes to Brian King, a student at Rice University for the caption: “They had said data scientists were lionized nowadays, but this was taking it to a whole new level.”
Thanks to everyone who submitted a caption and congratulations to our winners!
Lead Researcher Paulina Silva and researchers from the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine are recruiting participants for a survey study about why undergraduate students struggle in statistics courses. This study may help us to better understand why undergraduate students struggle in statistics courses and help develop new instructional methods.
You are eligible to participate in this study if you are at least 18 years of age, are a resident of the United States, speak and read English, and have been an instructor of record at any point for an undergraduate statistics course.
The survey will take place online and will last up to 10 minutes.
If you are interested in participating in this study, please follow this link<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fci-redcap…> or contact Paulina Silva at pnsilva(a)uci.edu<mailto:pnsilva@uci.edu>.
Thanks!
Paulina Silva, MS
PhD Student
Department of Cognitive Sciences
University of California, Irvine