Expensive but Worth It: Live Projects in Statistics, Data Science, and Analytics Courses
Students in statistics, data science, analytics, and related fields study the theory and methodology of data-related topics. Some, but not all, are exposed to experiential learning courses that cover essential parts of the life cycle of practical problem-solving. Experiential learning enables studen...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26939169.2024.2374565 |
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| author | Christian Ritter L. Allison Jones-Farmer Frederick W. Faltin |
| author_facet | Christian Ritter L. Allison Jones-Farmer Frederick W. Faltin |
| author_sort | Christian Ritter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Students in statistics, data science, analytics, and related fields study the theory and methodology of data-related topics. Some, but not all, are exposed to experiential learning courses that cover essential parts of the life cycle of practical problem-solving. Experiential learning enables students to convert real-world issues into solvable technical questions and effectively communicate their findings to clients. We describe several experiential learning course designs in statistics, data science, and analytics curricula. We present findings from interviews with faculty from the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East and surveys of former students. We observe that courses featuring live projects and coaching by experienced faculty have a high career impact, as reported by former participants. However, such courses are labor-intensive for both instructors and students. We give estimates of the required effort to deliver courses with live projects and the perceived benefits and tradeoffs of such courses. Overall, we conclude that courses offering live-project experiences, despite being more time-consuming than traditional courses, offer significant benefits for students regarding career impact and skill development, making them worthwhile investments. Supplementary materials for this article are available online. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e1a129e6f97f4d1abdc7dcf2524f5c2f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2693-9169 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-e1a129e6f97f4d1abdc7dcf2524f5c2f2025-08-20T03:16:42ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of Statistics and Data Science Education2693-91692025-04-0133223624610.1080/26939169.2024.2374565Expensive but Worth It: Live Projects in Statistics, Data Science, and Analytics CoursesChristian Ritter0L. Allison Jones-Farmer1Frederick W. Faltin2Institute for Statistics, Biostatistics and Actuarial Sciences, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumDepartment of Information Systems & Analytics, Miami University, Oxford, OHDepartment of Statistics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VAStudents in statistics, data science, analytics, and related fields study the theory and methodology of data-related topics. Some, but not all, are exposed to experiential learning courses that cover essential parts of the life cycle of practical problem-solving. Experiential learning enables students to convert real-world issues into solvable technical questions and effectively communicate their findings to clients. We describe several experiential learning course designs in statistics, data science, and analytics curricula. We present findings from interviews with faculty from the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East and surveys of former students. We observe that courses featuring live projects and coaching by experienced faculty have a high career impact, as reported by former participants. However, such courses are labor-intensive for both instructors and students. We give estimates of the required effort to deliver courses with live projects and the perceived benefits and tradeoffs of such courses. Overall, we conclude that courses offering live-project experiences, despite being more time-consuming than traditional courses, offer significant benefits for students regarding career impact and skill development, making them worthwhile investments. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26939169.2024.2374565Career impactExperiential learningProblem-solving skillsProject solicitationReal-world problems |
| spellingShingle | Christian Ritter L. Allison Jones-Farmer Frederick W. Faltin Expensive but Worth It: Live Projects in Statistics, Data Science, and Analytics Courses Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education Career impact Experiential learning Problem-solving skills Project solicitation Real-world problems |
| title | Expensive but Worth It: Live Projects in Statistics, Data Science, and Analytics Courses |
| title_full | Expensive but Worth It: Live Projects in Statistics, Data Science, and Analytics Courses |
| title_fullStr | Expensive but Worth It: Live Projects in Statistics, Data Science, and Analytics Courses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Expensive but Worth It: Live Projects in Statistics, Data Science, and Analytics Courses |
| title_short | Expensive but Worth It: Live Projects in Statistics, Data Science, and Analytics Courses |
| title_sort | expensive but worth it live projects in statistics data science and analytics courses |
| topic | Career impact Experiential learning Problem-solving skills Project solicitation Real-world problems |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26939169.2024.2374565 |
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