By Asja Alic (Montclair State University)
Information
In this poster, we will share activities used to promote the development of critical statistical literacy habits of mind (CSLHM; Bailey & McCulloch, 2023) in an introductory data science and statistics course for STEM majors. The main goal of incorporating such activities was to reinforce course content while concurrently emphasizing the importance of deeply reflecting upon the interwoven nature of statistical ideas and issues of equity, power, and privilege. These activities were piloted across two sections with approximately 80 students at a predominantly Hispanic serving institution (HSI) in the Northeast.
Early semester activities included foundational learning opportunities to engage with the framework focused on descriptive statistics. These activities emphasized the consumer orientation in alignment with the framework, (e.g., making sense of real-world statistical messages). Later activities bridged the consumer and production orientations to help students see that the critical lens permeating the CSLHM should extend throughout data science and statistics, these activities focused on making sense of news articles and data visualizations or podcasts that present statistical claims As research has noted the lack of focus on ethical considerations within data science programs (e.g., Oliver & McNeil, 2021), our goal was to see how incorporating activities designed to use and build CSLHM could influence students' understanding of the value of adopting a critical lens when engaging in data science and/or statistics. We will share sample student work. In addition, we will share student feedback on engaging in such activities, and their perception of using the CSLHM.