Statistics Teaching and Learning Corner
In a previous blog, I wrote about representation as one of the guidelines for Universal Design for Learning (UDL). In this blog post, I am going to concentrate on engagement.
A few years ago, if you had asked me about Universal Design for Learning, I would have said Universal Design for Learning is just captioning videos. Although this is important, it did not make the light bulb in my head start flashing with excitement. However, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is much more than just captioning. UDL is a framework for embracing variability in how our students learn. As statisticians, I think we should feel our hearts swell just a little about acknowledging variability in how our students learn.
Tl;dr -- Our classrooms are plagued with societal expectations which oppress certain students’ opportunities to learn and build an identity as a statistician/data scientist. Our students deserve more mindful approaches to group work and methods that create equitable spaces for everyone.
In the summer of 2020, I decided it was time to collect some data from my garden. I did this for two reasons: 1) I was curious about how much food I produced. 2) I wanted to use the data in my Introductory Data Science course at Macalester College. I knew the data would be fairly simple, and I liked that it would be a bit personal and give a way for me to connect with students. Although I didn’t know it when I started collecting the data, the personal a
Many colleges and universities have made a strong effort to make their campuses more inclusive to all people, especially those from underrepresented and historically marginalized minority groups. These efforts include faculty incorporating instruction that focuses on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) issues in their classroom. Statistics instructors have a unique opportunity to engage students in work around DEI considering there is an abundance of data available today to explore these issues. In this blog post, we share some of the data sets and activities we have used in our undergraduate introductory statistics classes to engage students in conversations around big issues that persist in marginalized groups.
I often hear variations of this statement at the beginning of each semester. Writing is not something students tend to associate with statistics, nor is it something that most stats faculty members have been formally trained to teach. However, the ability to create and critique written communication involving data and statistics is becoming increasingly important.... Continue Reading →
StatTLC 