Statistical Literacy and Mathematical Thinking

Statistical Literacy, the study of statistics as evidence in arguments, is proposed as a new course – a bridging course to better prepare students for the traditional statistics course. Statistical Literacy can also be a stand-alone course with its focus on observational studies and confounding factors. The mathematics involved in statistical inference of traditional statistics are reviewed. Causes of student difficulties are located in two areas: conditional probability and the relation between chance and confounding. These two problems are related to two areas of mathematical thinking: conditional thinking and contextual thinking. A statistical literacy course designed to remedy these deficiencies is proposed. Although this course has a remedial component, it is not remedial. And although this course focuses on the statistical analysis of social statistics, it is not a course in social policy. This course is a critical thinking course that focuses on descriptive statistics and modeling. There is a strong emphasis on conditional thinking and on written communication using proper English. The author has taught such a course to over 500 college students during the past five years. This course has proven challenging, but valuable, to a wide variety of students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Mathematicians should be an integral part of a group of educators dedicated to discussing the idea, researching the need, identifying course content, and evaluating course materials.