Since the use of fun in teaching statistics was featured in the September 2017 issue of Amstat News, there has been much continued growth in initiatives and resources. The field’s main collection at CAUSEweb.org has grown to nearly 800 items, including large special subcollections of songs (about 170 items), cartoons (about 180 items), and well-annotated quotes (230).
Some of the collection’s visibility and growth has been sparked by contests. For example, every month since June 2016, CAUSE Cartoon Caption contests have yielded winning cartoons blindly evaluated by a judging panel for their value in teaching statistics. And the A-µ-sing Competition offers cash prizes to students and instructors who develop original fun items aligned with an educational objective.
The current A-µ-sing contest has a deadline of April 1, and the winners’ work will be highlighted at the US Conference on Teaching Statistics May 16–18. Entries can be as simple as a statistical haiku or joke or as involved as a music video.
Encouraging your students to create fun examples as a class activity is a great way to get them thinking about statistical ideas in an engaging way. In fact, many A-µ-sing Competition winners have been undergraduate or graduate students whose efforts began as a class activity, including two grand prize winners and many best-in-category and honorable mentions now included in the CAUSEweb collection.
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