Feeling certain about uncertain things: Assessing affect and attitudes in statistics learning

While many teachers of statistics are likely to focus on transmitting knowledge, many students are likely to have trouble with statistics due to non-cognitive factors, such as (math) anxiety or negative attitudes towards statistics, which can impede learning of statistics, or hinder the extent to which students will develop useful statistical intuitions and apply what they have learned outside the classroom. This paper explores the role of attitudes in the learning of statistics, examines existing instruments for assessing attitudes and beliefs of students, and provides suggestions for methods teachers can use to gauge where students stand on some non-cognitive factors.