Teaching Students to Read COVID-19 Journal Articles in Statistics Courses

Abstract

Statistics is interdisciplinary and the practical application of statistical methods in various areas prompts undergraduates to learn more about statistics and better understand complex methods. This article presents a classroom teaching design that guides students in reading COVID-19 literature. The activities presented encourage peer-peer and student-instructor interaction, which can be modified based on the type of course offered as well as the level and major of students by changing the articles required for reading. The teaching activities are designed with evidence-based teaching strategies such as scaffolding and connecting the activities to learning outcomes aligned with levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. In our experience, the COVID-19 literature teaching activity improves students’ learning interest, cultivates students’ critical thinking, and enhances students’ understanding of theoretical methods. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.