eCOTS 2026 | Call for Participation & Proposals

Electronic Conference On Teaching Statistics

June 15-18, 2026

CAUSE is excited to announce the 2026 Electronic Conference on Teaching Statistics which will be held online from June 15-18, 2026.

The conference theme is "Sparking Joy and Discovery In a World of AI".

The 2026 Electronic Conference on Teaching Statistics (eCOTS) theme is "Sparking Joy and Discovery In a World of AI".  eCOTS, an online conference organized by the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE) will take place from June 15-18th, 2026.  The conference will include hour-long invited keynote speakers, thirty or seventy-minute breakout sessions, birds of a feather discussion sessions, poster sessions, reading groups, speed mentoring, and regional face-to-face mini-gatherings. There will also be workshops before and after the conference. 

In a world increasingly shaped by technological tools and artificial intelligence (AI), how can we spark discovery and joy in ourselves and our students? The theme invites us to explore the impact of AI on instruction and assessment for statistics and data science courses. Are there ways to foster wonder, imagination, and critical thinking (with or without AI) and to center human values and interactions in our teaching? We welcome approaches where AI is a partner in the human creative process as well as those that are complementary to these new tools, where joy and/or discovery are the main focus.

This page describes how to submit proposals in the following areas:

• Breakout Sessions
• Regional Meetings
• Workshops
• Reading Groups
• Birds of a Feather Discussions
• Posters & Beyond

Breakout Sessions

We seek compelling breakout sessions organized as 30- or 70-minute interactive webinars on a particular topic. Sessions should foster audience engagement and have at least one substantial opportunity for deliberations and discussion. The conference will have channels in Slack for additional conversations about these topics. 

Name: 
Institution: 
Co-Presenters (Optional): 
Co-Presenters Institutions: 
Primary Presenter’s Email: 
Co-Presenter’s Email: 
Session Title: 
Proposal Type: Choose One: 30 minute (recommended) or 70-minute session 
Brief Abstract (no more than 150 words):
Connection to Theme: Briefly describe how your proposal connects to the theme of "Sparking Joy and Discovery In a World of AI"; if outside the theme, explain which types of conference attendees will benefit from your proposal.
Engagement: Describe how your session will be structured to promote connection, discussion and engagement. We have noted that breakout groups can lead to dropout and encourage you to propose other creative approaches to foster interactivity.  
Goal: Briefly describe what you hope the participants will take away from your presentation.
 
The deadline for submissions for breakout sessions is Thursday, January 15, 2026. Decisions will be communicated within a month. 

Submit breakout proposal

Regional Meetings

Regional mini-conferences or workshops are designed to build the local statistics and data science education communities and integrate with eCOTS and its theme of "Sparking Joy and Discovery In a World of AI". These regional mini-conferences have a variety of formats and occur at different times. (Some funding from CAUSE is available to support regional gatherings.)

Name: 
Institution: 
Co-Organizer (Optional): 
Co-Organizer Institutions: 
Primary Presenter’s Email: 
Co-Organizer’s Email: 
Regional Meeting Title: 
Regional Meeting Description: (up to 250 words) When would the regional meeting meet? What format would be used? How do you plan to structure the regional meeting? How will the regional gathering engage participants with eCOTS? What funds are being requested for the regional meeting and how would they be used?

Regional meeting proposals are due by the end of the day on Thursday, January 22nd, 2026.

Workshops

Pre- and post conference workshops provide an opportunity for more extensive study of a topic and extensive interaction between participants and presenters. Workshop durations range from two hours to four hours (in two-hour blocks).

Name: 
Institution: 
Co-Presenters (Optional): 
Co-Presenters Institutions: 
Primary Presenter’s Email: 
Co-Presenter’s Email: 
Session Title: 
Workshop Duration: Choose one or two two-hour long sessions
Brief Abstract (no more than 150 words):
Connection to Theme: Briefly describe how your proposal connects to the theme of "Sparking Joy and Discovery In a World of AI"; if outside the theme, explain which types of conference attendees will benefit from your proposal.
Engagement: Describe how your session will be structured to promote community. 
Goal: Briefly describe what you hope the participants will take away from your presentation.

Workshop proposals are due by the end of the day on Thursday, January 22nd, 2026.

Submit workshop proposal

Reading Groups

Are you interested in hosting a virtual reading group before or after eCOTS? The reading can be a book or a collection of articles from the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education (JSDSE), CHANCE, The American Statistician, the Harvard Data Science Review, the Statistics Education Research Journal (SERJ), or similar venue. In the past, reading groups have met for 1 to 1.5 hours per week for 4 – 5 weeks. Generally, 1 to 2 chapters or articles is a good amount of reading to foster conversation. The reading groups have run before or after virtual events and utilized the CAUSE Slack channels.

Name: 
Institution: 
Co-Presenters (Optional): 
Co-Presenters Institutions: 
Primary Presenter’s Email: 
Co-Presenter’s Email: 
Reading Group Title: 
Brief Abstract (no more than 150 words):

Description of Reading and Organization:

Proposals for eCOTS Reading Groups should be submitted by February 6, 2026.

Submit reading group proposal

Birds of a Feather Sessions

One of the great opportunities of the electronic Conference on Teaching Statistics (eCOTS, to be held June 15-18th, 2026) is to have conversations with other statistics and data science educators. Facilitated conversations about a common topic, called birds-of-a-feather discussions, help to accomplish this.  

Please describe a birds-of-a-feather topic for which you would like to facilitate discussion. This discussion is not a formal presentation but rather an opportunity to ask questions and exchange ideas with a group of statistics and data science educators. These sessions will occur in Zoom breakout rooms.

Facilitator: 
Institution: 
Email:
Co-Facilitator(s): (Optional)
Co-Facilitator(s)’s Institution: 
Co-Facilitator(s)'s email:
Title of discussion topic:  
Abstract for discussion topic: (100 words or less) description

Proposals for eCOTS Birds of a Feather discussions should be submitted by February 13, 2026.

Posters and Beyond

We invite submissions for the Posters and Beyond sessions at the Electronic Conference on Teaching Statistics (eCOTS). This venue highlights innovative statistics and data science teaching activities, demonstrations, and classroom methods. 
In our virtual setting, a “poster” or “beyond” session will be a short video presentation (less than five minutes) that will be posted on the conference website, with the opportunity to interact during a scheduled Zoom session time.
Submissions may fall into one of two categories: Posters or Beyond. The P&B session provides an opportunity for conference participants to display a “poster” of their ideas or research. Alternatively,  “beyond”  provides a venue to share a small demonstration of favorite examples, activities, and teaching methods. 

To support the peer review process, those submitting Posters & Beyond proposals are encouraged to serve as a reviewer if asked

Posters
For Poster submissions, please provide:

1. Title of the poster
2. Description — What idea or research will you be presenting?
3. Teaching environment — Describe type of institution, type of students, typical class size, and other relevant context.
4. Takeaways for viewers — What should attendees learn or gain from your poster?
5. ​​​​​​​Connection to Theme: Briefly describe how your proposal connects to the theme of "Sparking Joy and Discovery In a World of AI"; if outside the theme, explain which types of conference attendees will benefit from your proposal.
6. Evidence of efficacy — While rigorous evidence is not required, submissions are expected to include some measure of efficacy, which could be more informal (e.g., research measures or student reflections). Examples include:

• Institutional course evaluations
• Measures of student learning or affect obtained through:
• Pre/post surveys or assessments
• Focus groups or interviews
• Other qualitative feedback from students
• Analyses linking claims in the poster to the collected data

7. References and citations
8. IRB approval (Optional) — Indicate if your work required IRB approval and whether it has been obtained.

Beyond
For Beyond submissions, please provide:

1. Title
2. Description of the activity, demonstration, applet or teaching method — Explain what it is and how it is used.
3. Integration into the classroom — Describe how the activity is incorporated into your lessons/course and how it is assessed (formative or summative).
4. Takeaways for viewers — What should attendees learn or gain from your poster?
5. Teaching environment — Describe type of institution, type of students, typical class size, and other relevant context.
6. Student reflections – While no formal assessment or evidence is required, inclusion of some informal assessment or student reflections can make the proposal more compelling. 
7. ​​​​​​​Connection to Theme: Briefly describe how your proposal connects to the theme of "Sparking Joy and Discovery In a World of AI"; if outside the theme, explain which types of conference attendees will benefit from your proposal.
8.. References and citations (where appropriate)
9. IRB approval (Optional) — Indicate if your work required IRB approval and whether it has been obtained.

Abstracts for posters or beyond activities in the eCOTS Posters and Beyond session should be submitted by Monday, March 3rd, 2026. Final decisions on poster and beyond selections are expected to go out by the end of April along with information about your scheduled session.

Statement on the Use of Generative AI Tools

As part of our commitment to transparency and scholarly integrity, we ask presenters to describe use of generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, etc.) in the preparation of their conference submission. Please include a brief statement describing:
1. Whether generative AI tools were used at any stage of your work.
2. If so, how they were used (e.g., for idea generation, editing, coding support, drafting text, creating images).
3. How you reviewed, verified, and adapted AI-assisted output to ensure accuracy and originality.

If you did not use generative AI tools, a simple statement such as “No generative AI tools were used in the development of this submission” is sufficient.

This disclosure will not affect the evaluation of your submission, but it will help us gather information to foster openness and thoughtful discussion about the evolving role of AI in research and creative practice.

Summary of Deadlines

The deadline for submissions for eCOTS 2026 breakout sessions is Thursday, January 15, 2026. Decisions will be communicated within a month. 

Workshop and Regional meeting proposals are due by the end of the day on Thursday, January 22nd, 2026.

Proposals for eCOTS Reading Groups should be submitted by February 6, 2026.

Proposals for eCOTS Birds of a Feather discussions should be submitted by February 13, 2026.

Abstracts for Posters or beyond activities in the eCOTS Posters and Beyond session should be submitted by Monday, March 3rd, 2026. 

Last updated 2025-10-01.