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K-12 Community Partnerships as a Method of Biostatistics Promotion (309997)
Anne Eaton, University of Minnesota School of Public HealthLillian Haine, University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Maria Masotti, University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Sarah Samorodnitsky, University of Minnesota School of Public Health
*Marta Shore, University of Minnesota School of Public Health
*Rachel Zilinskas, University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Keywords: Community outreach, mentorship, curriculum development, K12 education, graduate student training, science fairs, careers in biostatistics
Amidst multiple public health crises, the importance of establishing and fostering a diverse biostatistics workforce has become critical. With this in mind, we started a community outreach committee in Fall 2020, composed primarily of graduate students, to increase awareness of biostatistics and promote biostatistics as a career. We have partnered with diverse local public schools to create interdisciplinary curriculum with high school teachers, host professional and graduate student career panels, and participate in mock clinical research projects. We are developing a public website to showcase ideas and instructions for conducting statistics-focused K-12 science fair projects at different levels of mathematical training, to be translated into multiple languages. We have seen that K-12 students are excited to learn what biostatisticians do, and teachers are grateful for help with incorporating data analysis into their curriculum. In addition, our graduate students are gaining experience working with community members and learning how to communicate biostatistical concepts and analyses using clear, simple language.