Stats Education: Current & Future Directions

This is a very exciting time in statistics education, with many opportunities for involvement and collaboration. This article highlights some of the most recent activities in the United States, with an emphasis on where these efforts are going and where more energy needs to be devoted. Curricular and Pedagogical Reform in Introductory Statistics: Recently there has been a flurry of activity in the United States aimed at revising the introductory statistics course at the tertiary level. These changes have addressed content (more focus on data analysis and data collection issues, less on probability and derivations), pedagogy (increased use of active learning, genuine data, projects) and technology (using computer software and calculators for graphics and computations). Recommendations have been summarized by Cobb (1992) as: “Teach statistical thinking. More data and concepts, less theory and fewer recipes. Foster active learning.”…