The Challenge of Teaching Statistics to Non-Specialists

Abstract

Traditional methods of teaching introductory statistics are often viewed as being ineffective because they fail to establish a clear link between statistics and its uses in the real world. To be more effective, it is essential that teaching objectives are clearly defined at the outset and issues of content and methodology are addressed accordingly. This paper proposes that the relevant objectives should aim to develop the following competencies: (1) ability to link statistics and real-world situations, (2) knowledge of basic statistical concepts, (3) ability to synthesize the components of a statistical study and to communicate the results in a clear manner. Towards these objectives, we propose a revamp of the traditional course design together with the creation of a new software tool that is currently unavailable.