While there has been an impact on how statistics is being taught and increased satisfaction with the course, we still fall short of giving students the experiences they need to freely use statistical thinking and correct reasoning when they approach novel problems. While an introductory course cannot make novice students into expert statisticians, it should develop statistical thinking that can be applied to real world situations. Despite the proliferation of high quality new materials and technological tools, many instructors take a "black box" approach: simply using the materials and tools will somehow magically develop students' statistical thinking. What is needed is a method of teaching that is constantly linked to the goal of statistical thinking and provides teachers with the mechanism to evaluate how this goal is impacted by their teaching.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education