Reflections on the Current and Potential K-12 Impact of the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education

Abstract

The Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education (JSDSE) has a history of initiatives to expand its readership and impact. In this article, we reflect on JSDSE’s relevance to K-12 education and how it might increase its influence in this area. We characterize JSDSE’s K-12 impact partially in terms of its ability to foster statistical knowledge for teaching (SKT). We also introduce a new construct, statistical knowledge for the transformation of teaching (SKT [Formula: see text], to more fully capture the K-12 contributions JSDSE can make. Our analysis draws upon the perspectives of an experienced high school teacher (the first author) and a statistics education researcher (the second author). The first author of the article surveyed recent JSDSE issues to identify and reflect upon articles with implications for his teaching practice. The second author framed the first author’s article reflections in terms of their connections to SKT and SKT2. Drawing upon our collaborative analysis, we propose strategies to help JSDSE more fully realize its potential to contribute to SKT and SKT2. We explain how acting on the proposed strategies may help JSDSE readers, authors, and editors bridge the persistent historical gap between formal scholarship and practice in K-12 education.

Keywords

• Assessment
• Curriculum
• Education
• Pedagogical content knowledge
• Professional development
• Statistical knowledge for teaching