This year, our research efforts centered on the improvement science approach behind CourseKata by prioritizing the experiences of students from racially marginalized backgrounds and leveraging the unique and diverse CourseKata community—including researchers, instructors, curriculum designers, developers, and students themselves. At the heart of our work, we’ve aimed to adopt a contextual and systems approach, moving away from blaming students and instead focusing on the environments, structures, and supports within CourseKata materials that shape their learning experiences.

On November 14, 2024, CourseKata’s research community gathered for DREAM 2024, the second annual workshop dedicated to advancing research and fostering collaboration in statistics and data science education. Building on the momentum of last year’s inaugural event, DREAM 2024 featured lightning talks, lively discussions, and an atmosphere brimming with energy as each team presented findings and new projects to drive meaningful, large-scale impact. Here are some highlights and key takeaways!

Why Aren’t Students Reading? A Look at the Data  

If you’re struggling to get students to read the CourseKata stats textbook, you’re not alone! This challenge is echoed by instructors across all levels—high school and college—and in other disciplines as well. The data show a troubling decline in reading habits and skills:  

Dear Instructors,

This summer, CourseKata hosted its highly anticipated Summer Institute, bringing together thoughtful educators from diverse backgrounds to explore innovative approaches to teaching statistics and data science. From graduate students new to teaching to experienced professors, participants engaged in a transformative experience centered around CourseKata’s modeling approach.

In Spring of 2024, Josh Samani, a beloved award-winning Physics professor at UCLA launched CourseKata's first set of physics materials: Physics for Life Scientists -- Thermodynamics, Fluids, Sound, and Light. Ever the datahead, Professor Samani surveyed students about their reading behaviors when he used his "old" textbook as well as the "new" CourseKata textbook. 

Before CourseKata, a generous reading of the data would say that 46% of students reported completing 20% of the readings (less generously, they said they completed 0-20% of the readings!). After CourseKata, that number dropped to 3% of students and the vast majority (85%) of students reported reading 80-100% of the readings!