Developing tools for "real time" formative assessment of writing within large introductory statistics lectures

Oregon Convention Center 

It is vital that introductory-level statistics and data science students learn how to identify and produce short written communications that are statistically and computationally sound. However, there are pedagogical and practical challenges to designing and implementing effective formative assessment of student writing when courses involve hundreds or thousands of students. Scalable methods of support are needed to help students not only produce high quality writing, but also understand the statistical and computational concepts that necessitate the careful use of language. This talk will present our pedagogical and technological explorations for supporting "real time" formative assessment of writing within large introductory statistics lectures. Examples of the tasks and technology that were used will be examined from the perspectives of student engagement and conceptual development.