Infusion of Data Science and Computation in Introductory Statistics

This study investigates the impact of infusing data science (DS) knowledge and computational tools in introductory statistics on students’ statistical gains and levels of DS awareness, aspirations, and readiness. The data were collected from introductory statistics sections, that used one of two comparative course designs, at a minority-serving university in the United States. In the traditionalcourse sections, students took lecture-style classes and used a calculator for all course computations. In the DS-infused course sections, in addition to the regular class sessions, students engaged in a weekly virtual statistical computing lab via posit Cloud, pre-lab interactive R shiny reading assignments, and a data analysis project with R Markdown. While the results of pre/post content tests did not show positive impacts for the DS-infused design on students’ learning gains, the survey results showed positive impacts for the DS-infused design on students’ levels of DS awareness and readiness.