Section on Statistical Education

Beth Chance is a very effective teacher who cares deeply for her students' learning. She succeeds in guiding her students to learn statistics, and she also helps them to recognize the value of statistics. She successfully employs a variety of innovations in her courses, including integrated labs, class activities, technology demonstrations and exercises, student projects with peer reviews and presentations, and take-home exams. Beth adopts a very scholarly approach to her teaching, gathering plentiful assessment data and revising her lessons accordingly for continuous quality improvement. Beth's impact on statistics education extends far beyond her own students and institution, for she is also a leader in producing books, magazines, articles, presentations, and workshops that make a difference in the lives of teachers. One example of this is the tour de force presentation that Beth gave at the 1996 JSM in which she described how she tries to optimize the use of the various innovative components of her courses; another example is her 1997 JSE article on assessment that offers lucid and practical advice. Beth is one of the few classroom teachers who contributes not only to developing resources but also to conducting educational research into how students learn statistics, focusing particularly on effective uses of technology and the importance of sound assessment strategies. Moreover, Beth's influence truly extends worldwide, for she has given invited presentations in New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Finland, South Africa, and Great Britain. Beth also serves the profession through her work with the AP Statistics Test Development Committee, the ASA/MAA Committee on Undergraduate Statistics, and STATS: ASA's magazine for students of statistics.

Beth Chance's Homepage