More Effective Teaching of Statistics Using the History of Analytics David J. Fogarty

Abstract

There are many methods math and statistics teachers have used to make the teaching of statistics more interesting with the aim of improving student success. One of these methods is to relate the application to something interesting. However, an often overlooked method of making statistics more interesting is to go back into the history of why these techniques were created in the first place. This rich history can often give a more logical orientation to students and increase their learning and overall engagement in the classroom. This paper explores some of the historical aspects of statistics and discusses how including this information in the learning plan can potentially help students attempting to learn the subject.