Sustaining strengths and building capacity in statistics education

Convenors

• James Baglin (Australia)
• Iddo Gal (Israel)
• Jessica Utts (United States)

Abstract

This topic emphasizes the main theme of the conference: “Sustainability in statistics education”. Statistics education gains increasing importance in a world beset with oceans of data and ever-increasing need for diverse statistical skills and knowledge from professionals, workers, and citizens alike. Yet, many challenges exist in sustaining or improving the quality of education in statistics and probability in different contexts, both formal and informal. This Topic seeks proposals for conceptual, empirical, and case-based papers and whole sessions that relate to “sustaining strengths” and “building capacities”, ideas with many meanings for the various stakeholders involved in statistics education, e.g., students/learners, teachers, schools and academic institutions, employers, publishers, public agencies, and providers of official statistics.

Proposed papers and sessions in this topic can address, among other things, understanding obstacles or challenges that face different types of learners or teachers (e.g., mathematics or science teachers, new PhDs or graduate students, etc.), and methods or systems for achieving measurable and sustainable results in statistics education in various contexts. Papers may address issues of access, retention and improved knowledge in statistics and probability (e.g., of students, of professionals) beyond entry-level points. Papers may also examine or critically evaluate social processes or organizational factors that affect the place of statistics and of statistics education in curriculum frameworks or in academic systems, and how improvements in this regard can be developed, supported and sustained over time.

Sessions