Redesigning the Introductory Statistics Course

Abstract

There is general agreement that the traditional statistics course does not meet the needs of customer groups such as students and their future employers. While positive reform efforts are under way, many appear to be based on the belief that the course is fundamentally sound and just needs some modernizing. While we support these efforts, we argue that the traditional introductory course must be completely overhauled - not incrementally improved - if statistics is to have broad impact. Principles to guide this redesign are presented and then applied to the design of the introductory statistics course for business students. It is emphasized that both the content and delivery of the introductory statistics course must be changed. The proposed changes are supported by learning theories developed by educational and behavioral scientists.