Updates

Catalysts working on CATALST at JSM

Just a couple of quick updates...A couple weeks ago, Michelle Everson co-facilitated a workshop with Dave Ernst (http://www.cehd.umn.edu/ats/treks/transform.html), working with 15 faculty, staff, and graduate student instructors in the College of Education as they prepare to develop hybrid courses. Michelle says,

It's been a great opportunity for me to network with others in the college who are interested in online teaching and in using technology in their courses, and I'm definitely learning a lot about ways to improve some of our online courses. Dave and I will continue to meet with everyone and work with [these instructors] throughout the year as they put their hybrid courses together.

Also, Michelle continues to work on the video project, interviewing statistics educators whose work and writings are the underpinnings for the readings in EPsy 5271: Becoming a Teacher of Statistics. She has interviewed Allan Rossman and Beth Chance (conducting this interview when they were here for the CATALST workshop), and has been in contact with several other statistics educators about participating in this project. She hopes to begin those interviews early in the fall.


The group has been busy preparing to teach the CATALST course this Fall. The course website is up and available: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~zief0002/3264.htm. We have also reviewed and provided feedback on two instruments being used to measure students' understanding and reasoning about regression. Finally, Laura Le, a graduate student (seen in the JSM Dance Party picture in a previous post) reflects back on her very first JSM writing,

I loved it...My favorite part was was connecting with statisticians and other statistics education people. The only drawback (and it's minor) was the ovewhelming amount of talks going on at the conference. It was really hard to figure out what to go to. Although I didn't go to very many talks (Editors Note: This was our fault since we kept her quite busy in meetings for the CATALST grant.), the ones i went to were very interesting.