4B: Outreach opportunities for statistics and data science programs (Room 109)


Wesley Cox (Iowa State University), Ulrike Genschel (Iowa State University), Anna Peterson (Iowa State University), Laura Ziegler (Iowa State University)


Abstract

To foster a statistically literate society, students need to experience positive, relevant, and meaningful uses of data and statistics at the early stages of their academic careers. In this breakout session, we will share local outreach and recruitment activities we recently implemented at Iowa State University. These activities target students and faculty at all levels of K-12 and post-secondary institutions. Examples of outreach include conducting hands-on activities with students in K-12 and hosting an AP® Statistics mock exam. As a result of these outreach activities, we build relationships with faculty and develop additional ways to expose students to statistics and data science. We look to provide participants the opportunity to discuss the current challenges of engaging the next generation of statisticians and brainstorm ways to overcome those challenges. We will discuss those challenges by focusing on students’ exposure to and understanding of statistics and data science at the secondary and collegiate levels. Following our discussion, attendees will be given the chance to share their experiences with outreach and recruitment. We will discuss what worked and did not work in past outreach activities as well as the barriers faced and how we can overcome those barriers. Participants will leave with a list of actionable outreach items to connect with students and faculty at local institutions.


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