A Statistical Awareness Curriculum for STEM Employees

Summary In this HE STEM-funded project we created a learning environment that raises statistical awareness among STEM employers and employees and: shows the need for employers to audit employees’ statistical skills and act on the evidence provided by the audit; builds an understanding of the role of statistical skills in developing a fully competent workforce; develops an appreciation of how statistical skills can be improved. We created a web-based tool for employers to audit their employees’ statistical skills. We investigated and identified: statistical issues that STEM graduates should be able to discuss on the basis of what they know, but not necessarily be able to do; the statistics-related areas that STEM graduates should be able to critically evaluate. We also identified a useful statistical topic applicable to a range of STEM contexts, which can be taught to STEM employees using distance learning web resources. We give an example for teaching this topic to STEM employees through a problem-solving approach.