Undergraduate Educators

The American Statistical Association is dedicated to and involved in enhancing statistics education at all levels, including providing resources for undergraduate faculty and department chairs. Here, you will find information about undergraduate statistics education communities and resources, publications, guidelines and reports, and student competitions.

Communities and Resources

The ASA Section on Statistics and Data Science Education promotes the teaching and learning of statistics for all levels and audiences. Join the section to connect with your statistical education colleagues.


The ASA Section on Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences (TSHS) promotes statistics education in the health sciences and provides an online portal for peer-reviewed teaching materials.


The Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE) is a national organization whose mission is to support and advance undergraduate statistics education in the four target areas of resources, professional development, outreach, and research. CAUSE offers free statistics education webinars and resources and hosts the U.S. Conference on Teaching Statistics and Electronic Conference on Teaching Statistics.


The ASA/MAA Joint Committee on Undergraduate Statistics Education maintains a webpage of resources for department chairs intended for mathematics departments that bear primary responsibility for the teaching of statistics at their institutions.


The ASA/American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) Joint Committee maintains a list of resources for statistics instructors at two-year colleges. The committee also offers free statistics webinars.


The Isolated Statisticians interest group exists to support statistics educators—primarily at small colleges and universities—who teach in relative isolation (such as being the only statistician in a college mathematics department) by providing meetings, materials, announcements, and an online discussion group.


The Caucus of Academic Representatives promotes the statistics discipline within the academic community and provides resources for academic statisticians to successfully advocate for the discipline.


What’s Going On in This Graph? is a free, weekly online feature of the ASA and New York Times Learning Network. New York Times graphs of different types and context act as a springboard for middle- and high-school students in any course (college also welcome) to think critically about graphs. On most Wednesdays from September to April, graphs are released. Students respond to three questions: What do you notice? What do you wonder? What’s going on in this graph? Teachers moderate their responses online from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET. On Friday, the original article, additional questions, and “stat nuggets” —definitions of statistical terms and where they are seen in the graph—are revealed. No statistics background is necessary.


The Stats 101 Toolkit provides a series of case studies designed to show statistics in action. Each case starts with a real-world problem and leads the reader through the steps taken to explore the problem, highlighting the techniques used in introductory classes.


This is Statistics provides videos and resources for educators to promote the study of statistics.


StatPREP works directly with college-level instructors, both online and in community-based workshops, to develop the understanding and skills needed to work and teach with modern data. StatPREP is an initiative of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) in conjunction with American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) and the American Statistical Association (ASA).


Stats.org is a collaboration between the ASA and Sense About Science USA that aims to provide guidance regarding statistical literacy to journalists and the public.


The World of Statistics offers education resources created during the 2013 International Year of Statistics.


Useful Websites for Teachers provides links to online resources for K–12 and undergraduate statistics educators.

Publications

The Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education is a free online international journal focusing on statistics and data science teaching and learning. The website for the journal when it was called the Journal of Statistics Education (JSE) also contains links to several statistical education organizations, newsletters, discussion groups, and the JSE data archive.


Significance is a magazine that demonstrates the practical use of statistics and shows how statistics benefits society. Back issues of Significance are freely available online.


CHANCE is a magazine about statistics intended for anyone who has an interest in using data to advance science, education, and society.


The Statistical Significance Series highlights the contributions statisticians make to society.


Statistics: A Guide to the Unknown offers a collection of essays that describe the important applications of statistics and probability. Instead of teaching methods, the essays illustrate past accomplishments and current uses of statistics and probability. Examples of surveys, questionnaires, experiments, and observational studies illustrate the importance and influence of statistics.

Guidelines and Reports

The Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) College Report provides recommendations for teaching introductory statistics courses at the college level.


Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Programs in Statistical Science provides guidelines for developing statistical science program curricula, both for statistical science majors and for students in other majors seeking a minor or concentration in statistical science.


Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Programs in Data Science
Members of the Park City Math Institute 2016 Summer Undergraduate Faculty Program met to compose guidelines for undergraduate programs in data science. The group consisted of 25 undergraduate faculty from a variety of institutions in the United States, primarily from the mathematics, statistics, and computer science disciplines. These guidelines—endorsed by the ASA Board of Directors—are meant to provide structure for institutions planning for or revising a major in data science and appear in an issue of the Annual Review of Statistics. Supplementary material detailing courses for a proposed data science major is also available.


The Statistical Education of Teachers (SET) (PDF download) report outlines the content and conceptual understanding teachers need to know in assisting their students to develop statistical reasoning skills. SET is intended for everyone involved in the statistical education of teachers, both the initial preparation of prospective teachers and the professional development of practicing teachers.


Connecting Research to Practice in a Culture of Assessment for Introductory College-Level Statistics (PDF download) provides guidance on research priorities in statistics education.


Using Statistics Effectively in Mathematics Education Research (PDF download) describes how mathematics education researchers and statisticians can work together to strengthen scientifically based research in education. This report also has implications for conducting research in statistics education.


Qualifications for Teaching an Introductory Statistics Course (PDF download) is a joint statement by the American Statistical Association and Mathematical Association of America that includes recommendations for qualifications for teaching a modern introductory statistics course, along with information and resources for assisting departments and faculty.


ASA Endorsement of the MAA Guidelines for Programs and Departments in Undergraduate Mathematical Sciences (PDF download)


Statistical Abstract of Undergraduate Programs in the Mathematical Sciences in the United States (PDF download) summarizes a national survey of undergraduate mathematical and statistical sciences in the nation's two- and four-year colleges and universities.

Student Competitions

ASA DataFest is an annual 48-hour competition in which teams of undergraduate students work to reveal insights into a rich and complex data set.


The Fall Data Challenge is for high-school and undergraduate students to apply their statistical and data visualization skills to a relevant and timely topic and demonstrate the real-world impact of data.


The Undergraduate Statistics Project Competition (USPROC) encourages the development of data analysis skills, enhances presentation skills, and recognizes outstanding work by undergraduate statistics students.


The ASA’s awards program recognizes student’s contributions to statistics and offers paper competitions, travel awards, grants, and scholarships.