Examining the Impact of Software Instruction on Completion of Data Analysis Tasks

We are interested in studying best practices for introducing students in statistics or data science to the programming language R. The “tidyverse” is a suite of R packages created to help with common statistics and data science tasks that follow a consistent philosophy. We have created two sets of online learning modules, one that introduces tidyverse concepts first and then dives into idiosyncrasies of R as a programming language, the second that takes a more traditional approach, first introducing R broadly and then following with an introduction to a particular suite of packages, the tidyverse. We have created a randomized study to examine whether the order certain concepts are introduced impacts whether learning objectives are met and/or how engaged students are with the material. This talk will focus on the mechanics of this study: how it was designed, how we enrolled participants, and how we evaluated outcomes.

August 8, 2021

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

ASA Joint Statistical Meeting 2021