Abstract

Several recent documents have focused on looking at emerging trends and identifying challenges in the teaching and learning of statistics at all levels. The session will engage participants in considering two of these documents: the American Statistical Association’s Pre-K–12 Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education II: A Framework for Statistics and Data Science Education report (GAISE II) and the paper Reviews on Important Themes in Statistics Education to be published by Springer as a part of a larger series on mathematics education. GAISE I provided a framework of recommendations for developing students’ foundational skills in statistical reasoning in three levels across the school years, described as levels A, B, and C. GAISE II, updated using current statistics education research, builds on the ideas in GAISE I but incorporates the new skills needed for making sense of data today’s world. The review paper identifies five themes that seem to capture the recent trends and directions in statistics education research and highlights publications that elaborate on these themes or aspects of these themes. The discussion is of importance to not only those who teach statistics but also to those who prepare those who will teach statistics. The demands of this data driven world make it an imperative that our education systems pivot to meeting the needs of those who live and work in such a world.