Become a Catalyst for Change in Statistics Education


Presented by

Joan Garfield, Bob delMas, & Andy Zieffler, University of Minnesota; and Allan Rossman & Beth Chance, Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo; and John Holcomb, Cleveland State University

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

About

This one-day workshop will feature materials developed by the NSF funded CATALST project (Change Agents for Teaching And Learning STatistics). Working towards change in both content and pedagogy of the introductory, non-calculus based statistics course, the materials to be shared are designed to help students achieve the learning goals listed in the ASA-endorsed GAISE Report (see amstat.org). These presenters have developed sets of hands-on activities that form units based around a particular real world problem (e.g., how to develop a SPAM filter for email) and the related statistical ideas that emerge from this type of problem. The problems, called "Model Eliciting Activities," are rich and complex open-ended problems that stimulate statistical thinking, engage students in creating, developing and testing unique models to solve the problem, and prepare them to learn the statistical content that follows in the unit. The CATALST materials focus on important ideas of statistical inference and the use of simulation throughout the course.

Logistics

Location: The workshop will be held at the Marriott San Francisco (about 1.5 blocks from Moscone West) at 55 Fourth Street, San Francisco, in room Pacific J.

Workshop session times: Tuesday, January 12, from 8:30am - 2:30pm.

Lodging and transportation: Workshop participants are responsible for their own lodging and transportation. If attending JMM, we encourage you to book your hotel early to get the convention rates.

Parking: For those participants who are driving to the Marriott for the workshop, the closest available parking is at the corner of Fifth and Mission Streets, the cost is about $25 per day. Parking at the Marriott is for overnight guests only and is very expensive.

Meals: Workshop participants will be provided lunch during the workshop day.

Registration: There is no registration cost to attend this workshop, but registration is required. Workshop materials will be provided.

About the Presenters

Joan GarfieldJoan Garfield is a professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota, where she runs a unique graduate program in statistics education and teaches courses on teaching statistics and research in statistics education. She is an Associate Director of CAUSE, heading the research arm of the consortium. She is an active participant in national and international organizations involving statistics education and is an Associate Editor for the IASE Statistics Education Research Journal (SERJ) and Technology Innovations in Statistics Education (TISE). She is an ASA Fellow and recipient of the ASA Founder's award and currently co-directs three NSF grants.


Bob delMasBob delMas is an Associate Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota. He is a co-PI on several NSF funded projects: Assessment Resource Tools for Improving Statistical Thinking (ARTIST); Adapting and Implementing Innovative Materials in Statistics Courses (AIMS); Change Agents for Teaching And Learning Statistics (CATALST). He has made several presentations with Joan Garfield and Beth Chance on their joint research into the effective use of software to promote students statistical thinking and reasoning. Their work is highlighted in the book Statistical Thinking, Reasoning, and Literacy (Kluwer) that provides an international perspective on current statistics education research. His work has also been published in the Journal of Statistics Education (JSE) and the Statistics Education Research Journal (SERJ). He is an associate editor for the Journal of Statistics Education, a research consultant for CAUSE (Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education), and the current chair of the ASA Section on Statistical Education.


Andrew ZiefflerAndrew Zieffler is a Lecturer in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota. He is a co-PI of the NSF-funded project Adapting and Implementing Innovative Materials in Statistics Courses (AIMS). He is also the project evaluator for the NSF-funded project, Rational Number Project: Instructional Module for Fractions, Decimals, and Percents. His research interests include development of curricula and assessments for use in introductory statistics courses, the use of linear mixed-effects models to examine students' development of statistical reasoning, and the design and improvement of student assessments through psychometric analysis. Andy is currently a member of the Research Advisory Board for CAUSE (Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education).


Allan RossmanAllan J. Rossman is a Professor in the Department of Statistics at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. His work has focused on developing curricular materials to support active learning approaches to teaching introductory statistics. With Beth Chance, he is co-author of the Workshop Statistics series of coursebooks and also of Investigating Statistical Concepts, Applications, and Methods. He and Dr. Chance have also co-edited STATS magazine and the Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Teaching Statistics. Dr. Rossman has chaired the ASA's Section on Statistical Education and the ASA/MAA Joint Committee on Undergraduate Statistics. He is currently President of the International Association for Statistical Education and is Chief Reader-Designate for the AP Statistics program. He was the 2007 Program Chair for the Joint Statistical Meetings and was selected as a Fellow of the ASA in 2001.


Beth ChanceBeth Chance is Professor of Statistics at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She is co-author of Workshop Statistics and Investigating Statistical Concepts, Applications, and Methods with Allan Rossman. She is currently the assistant editor for the Statistics Education Research Journal and has been on the editorial board of the Journal of Statistics Education and The American Statistician. She has been involved with the AP Statistics for many years including serving on the test development committee. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the inaugural winner of the Waller Education Award for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching Introductory Statistics. Beth's primary research interests have been in the areas of effective uses of technology and assessment in introductory statistics.