By Kirsten Doehler (Elon University)
Information
A DEI-focused lab activity was conducted in an Introductory Statistics course at a medium-sized private university, with class sizes typically ranging from 25 to 30 students. The course emphasizes students as consumers of statistics rather than producers. The lab involved analyzing a dataset from the Southern Poverty Law Center (https://www.splcenter.org/) containing information on Confederate symbols. The dataset includes variables such as the type of symbol (e.g., monument, school, roadway, building), its location (city, state, county), the dedication year, and, where applicable, the year of removal. The data provides insights into symbols associated with the Confederacy, representing the eleven southern states that seceded during the U.S. Civil War.
The statistical goals of the lab include generating appropriate graphs to visually display the data, summarizing categorical data, and gaining experience coding in R. A key non-statistical objective is to help students make connections between the history of Confederate symbols and current events.
As part of the activity, students completed a pre-lab assignment and participated in a post-lab discussion. For the research study, students also answered pre- and post-surveys assessing the perceived importance of incorporating DEI activities and curriculum into college coursework. The surveys included Likert scale questions such as, “I am comfortable talking about race in front of my classmates.” The lab assignment, strategies for facilitating meaningful class discussions, and selected survey results are included.