Statistics is fundamentally about data; StatPREP is fundamentally about helping instructors teach with data. We work with college instructors who want to teach statistics with a modern pedagogy and with a direct emphasis on real data wrangling and visualization techniques.
Today’s students – the future STEM workforce – need to engage contemporary “big data” using modern computational tools. Yet, a wide gap exists between today’s data-driven workplace and introductory statistics courses at the vast majority of universities and community colleges in the US. Students need to be equipped with a modern understanding of statistics and its use in handling data across a wide spectrum of STEM disciplines. The NSF-funded StatPREP project aims to provide professional development for faculty teaching introductory statistics, particularly two-year college instructors with mathematics vs. statistics backgrounds. StatPREP is specifically designed to engage today’s reality of instructor experience and qualifications, within the constraints of two-year faculty in terms of location, timing, content, and mentoring opportunities.
The hard work of curriculum change only happens when dedicated individuals are fully committed to the long-term goals of the program. The success of StatPREP will rest largely with the local hub leaders and the active participation of faculty at the hub institutions.
The StatPREP project started in December 2016 and runs through December 2021. During this period, we will be running several workshops each year in major metropolitan areas in the US. The workshops are designed for instructors whose primary training may not be in statistics and whom may not have extensive experience with data-oriented investigation or data-oriented software.