Transforming Undergraduate Statistics Education Through Experiential Learning: It's Essential!

• Activity Number: 83 - Your Invited Poster Evening Entertainment: No Longer Board
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Sunday, July 30, 2017 : 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Education
• Author(s): Tracy Morris* and Cynthia Murray and Tyler Cook
• Companies: University of Central Oklahoma and University of Central Oklahoma and University of Central Oklahoma
• Keywords: statistics education ; experiential learning ; service learning

Abstract

The demand for statisticians has grown dramatically in recent years due to the increasing availability of data in many fields. While the number of graduates in statistics is growing, the McKinsey Global Institute predicts there will soon be a shortage of professionals with the quantitative skills necessary for the new data-rich environment. In order to meet this demand, the approach to statistics education must change to better recruit, retain, and prepare capable students. Experiential learning has the potential to improve statistics education. SCHOLAR (Statistical Consulting Help for Organizational Leaders and Academic Researchers) is an NSF funded program at the University of Central Oklahoma in which undergraduate students participate in experiential learning through real statistical consulting projects submitted by researchers from both on- and off-campus. Since 2009, more than 50 students have participated in SCHOLAR, and have completed more than 30 projects. In this presentation, we will outline the history of SCHOLAR and present results of a survey on the attitudes toward statistics, undergraduate research, and graduate school among both SCHOLAR and non-SCHOLAR students.