Innovative Ways for Teaching Large Statistics Courses

• Activity Number: 389
• Type: Roundtables
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 11, 2015 : 12:30 PM to 1:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Education
• Author(s): Stacey Hancock*
• Companies: UC Irvine
• Keywords: Large class sizes ; Statistics education

Abstract

Large class sizes have become the norm at large universities, not the exception. For example, at the University of California, Irvine, we teach 220 students in one lecture of our introductory statistics course, with discussion sections of 55 students each. Even our advanced undergraduate probability course has more than 100 students in each class. This roundtable discussion will focus on methods for actively engaging students in these large classes, as well as tools for managing large classes, providing student feedback, and promoting an inclusive learning environment. Participants will have an opportunity to share their own experiences with large classes, as well as learn and discuss best practices with other participants.