F07: Feel the fear and do it anyway: perceived gains from the Passion-Driven Statistics project-based introductory statistics course

Information

The Passion-Driven Statistics curriculum teaches students to apply introductory statistics concepts to complete an independent project using real datasets using R, SAS, Stata, SPSS, or Python. Participants will learn about the project-based curriculum, which comprises a free 32-page e-book, professionally produced YouTube videos, and Slack forums for instructors and students. Undergraduate and graduate students in community colleges, flagship and regional universities, and small liberal arts colleges have used this curriculum, and past research has found success with students who might not otherwise enroll in quantitative courses. In this study, we evaluated whether students’ pre-course attitudes were associated with perceived gains among 801 students attending 28 private and public universities, fall 2018 - January 2020. We used multilevel mixed-effects linear regression within multiply imputed data. Each increment of future intentions to use statistics (range 0-6) was associated with 0.09-0.17 standard deviations of greater gains on all subscales of the Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment: perceived future preparation, skill gains, thinking like a scientist, scientific engagement, and personal gains. Binary measures of low math confidence and statistics anxiety were not associated with perceived gains. Project-based courses can be effective with students who enter the course with intentions of using statistics, despite statistics anxiety.