129 – Advancing Statistical Literacy
Augsburg Student Evaluations of STAT 102: Social Statistics for Decision Makers
Milo Schield
Augsburg College
In 2016, the ASA endorsed the update of the GAISE guidelines. In a paper delivered at the 2016 IASE Roundtable in Berlin, Schield argued that these new GAISE guidelines required a new course which he labeled as Stat 102: Social Statistics for Decision Makers. Since 2013, Augsburg College has offered a catalog course that is arguably GAISE 2016 compliant and henceforth referred to as STAT 102. It is focused on multivariable thinking about social statistics obtained from observational studies where confounding and assembly are important influences. At the end of the course, students were asked to list the ideas and concepts they found most helpful. This list was summarized into 20 statements and the same students were asked to rate them in their importance. This paper presents their results. Students identified 'confounding', 'hypothetical thinking', 'statistics are numbers in context' and the 'Take CARE' framework as the four most important ideas in the course. Students see value in this course. In an anonymous survey with 100% participation, 61% of the 105 students taking this course in the last two years agreed that "this course should be required by all college students for graduation."