CAUSE December 2021

cause@causeweb.org

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Help us pilot the Student Survey of Motivational Attitudes toward Statistics (Spring 2022)

by Carey III, Robert Patrick

Have you ever thought about how your students’ attitudes might relate to their learning? Help us find out! You probably received a similar email from us in October recruiting for Fall 2021 S-SOMAS survey administration. We are now recruiting for Spring 2022. You are welcome to sign up now if you like to get your full Spring schedule set up before Spring starts. We will also be sending another sign-up email in February 2022 for those who would like to wait to sign up. The deadline for sign-ups is March 1, and we will be asking you to administer the survey in March or April 2022. We have identified you as an instructor of statistics and/or data science who is invested in your students. We hope that you are willing to join us<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqCyC4ZI1pOMnoOrrZ_MdquBNoSR-3Id5…> as we strive to understand the role that student attitudes play in the learning process. We are a team of researchers working on a project<https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2013392&HistoricalAwards=f…> funded by the National Science Foundation (DUE-2013392) to develop validated instruments measuring student and instructor attitudes toward statistics and data science. We refer to this project as MASDER (Motivational Attitudes in Statistics and Data Science Education Research). These instruments will allow us to understand how student attitudes toward statistics relate to course grades and conceptual understanding, as well as to instructor attitudes, pedagogical modalities, and course and university characteristics. We hope you will agree to participate in this important work. We are looking for instructors who are willing to give students in their undergraduate statistics courses our pilot Student Survey of Motivational Attitudes toward Statistics (S-SOMAS) during the Spring 2022 semester. (This survey will be slightly modified compared to the Fall 2021 version based on our psychometric analyses.) We will make this as easy as possible for you by providing an individualized link for administering this survey to your class. It should only take students about 10-15 minutes to complete. This project has been approved by our Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB has also set forth some guidelines that we must follow in conducting this research, which we describe herein. Please note that due to our IRB approval and scope of grant, we are only recruiting courses taught in the United States. The survey should be assigned either for class credit or for extra credit in order to increase the response rates. We will share with you a list of students who completed the consent form, but we are unable to reveal additional student information or survey responses. Your involvement in this project improves the quality of the final survey which we will develop. Amalgamated, de-identified survey data will be publicly available at the end of the grant period, as well as additional material. If you would like to connect with your IRB before administering the survey, you may provide them with this folder<https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V4o0R0du_vPt6ZPWx8tlZx1HNcLp-Sd0> that includes information they might need to determine your eligibility to administer the survey. If you are interested in participating, please fill out this short survey<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqCyC4ZI1pOMnoOrrZ_MdquBNoSR-3Id5…> by March 1st, 2022. This short survey should be completed for each course you plan to administer the S-SOMAS to. You do not need to complete the survey multiple times for each section within a course. We would like your students to complete the S-SOMAS survey in March or April 2022. We also encourage you to share this email with colleagues who might be interested. Also, be on the lookout for an email from us in January asking you to fill out our pilot I-SOMAS instrument (Instructor Survey of Motivational Attitudes toward Teaching Statistics). We are excited to be developing this new survey for better understanding statistics educators! We thank you in advance for your help! Alana Unfried (PI), California State University - Monterey Bay Leyla Batakci, Elizabethtown College Wendine Bolon, Monmouth College Marjorie Bond, Monmouth College April Kerby-Helm, Winona State University Michael Posner, Villanova University Douglas Whitaker, Mount Saint Vincent University

2 years, 4 months

Duke University seeking Assistant Professor of the Practice

by Burghard, Laura

Duke University seeks an Assistant Professor of the Practice with expertise in data science and statistical science to teach in the Master’s in Interdisciplinary Data Science (MIDS) program. The faculty position is hosted by the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) in collaboration with the Rhodes Information Initiative at Duke (iiD). The candidate will be a core faculty member in MIDS; collaboration with the department of Statistical Science will be central to the position, and a secondary appointment in Statistical Science is expected. Applications are invited for this faculty position at the rank of assistant professor of the practice to begin in the fall semester of 2022. Ranks other than assistant will be considered. Initial salary and rank will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. The successful candidate will be an experienced data science educator with a doctorate in a field related to data science, and with demonstrated talent for making difficult data science and statistics concepts accessible to students with a variety of foundational backgrounds. Preference will be given to candidates with particular interest in computational methods in statistics and data science, as well as interest in supervising students in case studies. Responsibilities include teaching three courses per year at the beginning graduate and advanced undergraduate levels; engaging in the MIDS admissions process; and mentoring and advising MIDS students including students enrolled in MIDS Capstone Practicums. The secondary appointment in Statistical Science will also offer the opportunity to work with students in the three degree programs in that Department (undergraduate, MS and PhD). In addition to dedication to excellence in teaching and mentoring, applicants must be interested in establishing a national reputation for their scholarship, for example, in data science education, interdisciplinary collaborations, or research. This is a full-time 9-month appointment. Professors of the practice at Duke are regular rank faculty members with term renewable appointments, where the expectation is for repeated reappointments for faculty who demonstrate excellence in education and scholarship. Background Duke’s Masters in Interdisciplinary Data Science (MIDS) program connects technical learning and expertise with the many domains in need of data insights, inviting broad collaboration to connect data science with real-world problems. Duke’s interdisciplinary and collaborative research culture provides an ideal place for such a program. https://datascience.duke.edu/<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdatascien…> The core mission of Duke University’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is to catalyze pioneering social science research and methods and their broad application. To that end, SSRI brings together researchers with interests in problems that cross the various social and behavioral sciences, including problems that connect with the humanities and natural sciences. https://ssri.duke.edu/<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fssri.duke…> The Rhodes Information Initiative at Duke (iiD), launched in 2013, works with departments and schools to transform data science education at Duke, to develop a large and vibrant data science community, and to develop a broader base of high visibility interdisciplinary research. https://bigdata.duke.edu/<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbigdata.d…> The Department of Statistical Science is an internationally recognized center of excellence for research and education in statistical science. With leading strengths in Bayesian analysis, interdisciplinary applications and computationally intensive methods, the Department offers outstanding teaching support, computational facilities, and opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching and collaboration. The educational programs as well as the Department’s research agenda benefit from strong connections with other groups at Duke, as well as with other collaborators, centers, companies and organizations nationwide. https://stat.duke.edu<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstat.duke…> To Apply To apply, submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, personal statement of teaching and research, and three references (just names and addresses; no letters needed at this time) via: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/20619<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Facademicj…>. For inquiries and e-mail correspondence please write to mids-pop-search(a)duke.edu<mailto:mids-pop-search@duke.edu>. The position will remain open until filled, and screening will begin immediately. --------------------------------------- Duke University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas – an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

2 years, 4 months

The CAUSE Cartoon Caption Contest for December is now taking entries!

by Carey III, Robert Patrick

The Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education is happy to announce our 67th Cartoon Caption Contest! Each month a cartoon, drawn by British cartoonist John Landers, is posted for you and your students to suggest statistical captions (cartoons are posted at the beginning of the month and submissions are due at the end of the month). The caption contest is offered as a fun way to get your students thinking independently about statistical concepts. The next cartoon and the entry rules for the contest ending December 31 are at: https://www.causeweb.org/cause/caption-contest/december/2021/submissions The best submission will be posted on CAUSEweb and the winner(s) will receive their choice of a coffee mug or t-shirt imprinted with the final cartoon. Enjoy. November Results: The November caption contest featured two robots (like mars rovers) working together on an unknown planet. One of the robots is gathering small rock specimens and processing them while the second robot is recording and analyzing data from the operation – a three-dimensional hologram shows the results. The winning caption for the November contest was “Statistics is a team sport involving sampling, measurement, analysis, and presentation, which can become rocket science.” written by Jim Alloway of EMSQ Associates. Jim’s caption can be used to help start a class conversation both about the statistical paradigm as well as about the importance of collaborative efforts in carrying out a study. An honorable mention this month goes to Ryan Card from University of Washington at Tacoma for the caption: “100% of Mars rocks analyzed so far has been small enough to be analyzed by rovers,” that might be used in teaching about sampling biases. Thanks to everyone who submitted a caption and congratulations to our winners!

2 years, 4 months

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CAUSE December 2021