USCOTS 2015 - About


About the Theme

Helping students to make connections is one of the most challenging yet important aspects of effective teaching. Teachers of statistics strive to help their students to make connections with each other, to make connections among concepts in the course, and to make connections between statistics and other disciplines. Making professional connections can also help to enhance a statistics teacher's effectiveness, for example by making connections with other statistics teachers and with scholars in fields that use statistics. The challenge and usefulness of making connections will be the unifying theme of USCOTS '15.

This conference is designed to model good teaching in its sessions, social activities, and hallways. As with previous USCOTS, it will consist of plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and "poster and beyond" sessions. These will address how to make change happen in four main areas: curriculum, pedagogy, resources, and educational research.

Special Features of USCOTS 2015

  • Plenary sessions by national leaders in Undergraduate Statistics Education on current and emerging trends in research, curriculum, pedagogy, and resources
  • Hands-on breakout sessions to incorporate new ideas into your courses
  • Posters & Beyond sessions exchanging your ideas on teaching and learning statistics
  • Conference banquet
  • Opportunities to meet other statistics teachers from a wide range of institutions and disciplines
  • Pre-conference workshops to delve deeply into a specific statistics education innovation
  • A fun, active atmosphere where everyone can be involved!

Posters and Beyond Proposal Information

The USCOTS’15 Program Committee is seeking ideas for active, participant-focused breakout sessions addressing the conference theme, “Making Connections.” This conference is designed to model good teaching in its sessions, social activities, and hallways. As with previous USCOTS, this conference will consist of plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and “poster and beyond” sessions. These sessions will address how to make connections in four main areas: curriculum, pedagogy, resources, and educational research. Examples of the types of connections that will be addressed include those that directly benefit students and teachers:

Students

  • Making connections with fellow students, both face-to-face and virtually
  • Making connections among course concepts, methods, and applications (e.g., between the use of randomness [random sampling or random assignment] in collecting data, the scope of conclusion that can be drawn from the study [generalizability, causation], and the role of randomness conducting statistical inference related to the study)
  • Making connections with earlier educational experiences (e.g., statistical concepts learned in high school)
  • Making connections with material learned in other courses (e.g., in science or social science courses in the student’s major)
  • Making connections with later educational experiences
  • Making connections with news reports in popular media

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 employers
  • Making connections with education professionals with expertise in educational research and educational technology and other areas

The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel

  • Room rate for USCOTS participants is $124 plus tax (code to get USCOTS rate: USCE15A)
  • Free internet in all rooms and in the Conference Center
  • Close to State College airport with free shuttle
  • Free parking
  • Back-up lodging will be at the Nittany Lion Inn at a rate of $139 plus tax

Registration Costs

  • Early Bird Registration before April 1 at $180
  • Standard Registration after April 1 at $220
  • $30 discount for participants from CAUSE Institutional Members Institutional Members

Plan Your Travel

  • The Mixer and opening session starts on Thursday May 28th at 6:00 p.m.
  • The closing breakout sessions end on Saturday May 30th at 5:30 p.m.
  • Pre-conference workshops start Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday
  • Pre-conference workshops range from half-day to 2.5 days (the earliest starting on Tuesday morning May 26th)
  • The State College airport is served by US Airways (from Philadelphia), Delta (from Detroit), and United (from Washington D.C. and Chicago). Alternate airports to State College include:
    • Harrisburg - 100 miles
    • Pittsburgh - 150 miles
    • Baltimore - 180 miles
    • Philadelphia - 200 miles

Planning Committees

Breakout Session Review Committee

Allan Rossman, Chair, Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
Ann Cannon, Cornell College
Julie Clark, Hollins University
Randall Groth, Salisbury University
John Holcomb, Cleveland State University
Jackie Miller, University of Michigan
Mark Mills, Central College
Tom Short, John Carroll University
Diana Spence, University of North Georgia

Poster & Beyond Review Committee

Jackie Miller, Chair, University of Michigan
Chris Malone, Winona State University
Jamis Perrett, Monsanto Company
Leigh Weiss, Capital University