Planning has begun for the next United States Conference on Teaching Statistics (USCOTS), which will be held at the Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel on May 28 – 30, 2015 and hosted by the Consortium for
the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE). We are seeking ideas for active, participant-focused breakout sessions addressing the conference theme of Making Connections.

Examples of the types of connections that will be addressed include
those that directly benefit students:
- Making connections with fellow students, both face-to-face and virtually;
- Making connections among statistical concepts, methods, and applications;
- Making connections with earlier educational experiences;
- Making connections with material and skills being learned in other courses;
- Making connections with later educational experiences;
- Making connections with employment and other professional opportunities;
- Making connections with news reports in popular media.

Other examples include making connections that directly benefit teachers:
- Making connections with other instructors of the same course, with
instructors of quantitative courses in client disciplines, or with
statistics teachers at other institutions;
- Making connections with practicing statisticians and other
professionals who use statistical ideas and methods;
- Making connections with former students and with employers;
- Making connections with education professionals with expertise in
educational research and educational technology and other areas.

We are now requesting proposals for 80-minute breakout sessions that relate directly to the conference theme and focus on actively engaging participants. It is *not* appropriate for a breakout session to consist
primarily of a presentation. To propose a breakout session, send a description of your proposed session to Program Chair Allan Rossman (arossman@calpoly.edu) by December 8, 2014. Your proposal of no more
than 1000 words must include:
- a title for proposed session,
- names, e-mail addresses, and brief biographical sketches for all leaders of the session,
- description of how the session relates to the conference theme (making
connections),
- explanation of how the session will actively engage participants, and
- discussion of how participants will be able to implement ideas
presented in the session.

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee, and notifications will be made by January 15, 2015. Proposals for “poster and beyond” sessions will be solicited at a later date; those proposals will be due on February 1, 2015.

USCOTS is designed to model good teaching in its sessions, its social activities, and its hallways. T his conference consists of plenary sessions, breakout sessions, “poster and beyond” sessions, "birds of a
feather" lunch discussions, technology demonstrations, and a banquet dinner.   More information can be found at: www.CAUSEweb.org/uscots/ .

Best wishes,

Allan J. Rossman
Professor and Chair
Statistics Department
Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407

arossman@calpoly.edu
http://statweb.calpoly.edu/arossman/