Implementing a Senior Statistics Practicum: Lessons and Feedback from Multiple Offerings

Figures & data

Table 1 Descriptive statistics for responses to eleven end of semester survey items.

Survey Question	Mean	SD	Min	Max
I put in a lot of effort into the semester-long statistical consulting project that was completed.	5.61	0.50	5	6
I felt that the semester-long statistical consulting project was beneficial for me.	5.67	0.59	4	6
I plan to put this consulting project on my resume.	5.11	1.13	2	6
I enjoyed working with the members of my group.	5.65	0.61	4	6
I would recommend this class to other statistics majors.	5.72	0.57	4	6
I improved my coding skills through this project.	5.06	0.90	4	6
I improved my data analysis skills through this project.	5.41	0.80	4	6
I improved my public speaking skills through this project.	4.94	0.87	4	6
I improved my writing skills through this project.	5.00	0.79	4	6
I have a better idea of the statistical consulting process now compared to before I took STS 460.	5.61	0.61	4	6
I felt that the instructor helped to guide my group in the project.	5.67	0.59	4	6

NOTE: Response options ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree) and are based on feedback from 18 students.

Table 2 Themes present in 18 responses for the survey item asking: What three things from the class were the most beneficial?

Theme	Frequency	Frequency
	in 2018	in 2021
Meetings with client/working with a client	4	1
Onsite visit/presentation	4	NA
Group project/working in a group	4	5
Skype/video meetings	3	0
Guest speaker	2	1
New software/coding	2	2
In class work time	1	3
Interim presentation	1	1
Introductory project before main project	0	2
Writing a statistical report	0	2

Table 3 Themes present in 18 responses for the survey item asking: What three things from the class were the least beneficial?

Theme	Frequency	Frequency
	in 2018	in 2021
Reflection assignments	6	1
Reading assignments and discussions	4	0
Marshmallow challenge	3	NA
Time fillers – more time wanted for project	2	0
Multiple presentation practice/ midterm presentation	2	1
In-class lectures/training	2	2
NDA	1	0
Guest presentations	1	4
Introductory project before main project	1	2
Blog journals	NA	4
ASA consulting/collaboration videos	NA	4

Table 4 Themes present in 18 responses for the survey item asking: Overall do you think it was useful for you to take the statistics practicum course? Please explain your response.

Theme	Frequency	Frequency
	in 2018	in 2021
Yes, gained consulting/applied/real-world experience	5	5
Yes, communication skills improved	3	1
Yes, obtained new/improved skills	2	2
Yes, the experience looks good for employers and/or graduate school	1	2
Yes, class allowed creativity	1	0
Yes, the course gave me an idea of what working in the real world could be life	0	1
No, only because I do not intend to go into a statistics-related job.	1	1

Table 5 Themes present in 18 responses for the survey item asking: Based on what you know now, do you think you would have rather completed this senior statistics consulting project with an outside organization as the client or with an internal client from within the university? Please explain your response.

Theme	Frequency	Frequency
	in 2018	in 2021
Outside client preferred	6	8
Internal client preferred	1	0
No Opinion/Allow both outside and internal clients	1	2

Table 6 Categories for difficulties or challenges faced in the practicum project from students in both 2018 and 2021.

Category	Frequency	Frequency	Frequency
	(Reflection 1)	(Reflection 2)	(Reflection 3)
Communication with client	3	1	0
Cleaning data, data formatting issues, missing data	6	6	5
Data analysis	5	4	5
Difficulty collaborating as a group	2	2	3
Sharing or accessing data/code	1	1	3
Keeping up with client timeline	1	1	0
Coding and software challenges	4	5	4
Getting project started	1	3	2
Challenges related to working with a large dataset	3	3	2

NOTE: Reflections 1 and 2 had 18 responses while Reflection 3 had 17 responses.

Fig. 1 Statistical and nonstatistical knowledge that students expected to gain (Reflection 1) and thought they gained (Reflection 3) from the project. Items are responses to questions regarding expected or gained knowledge; red font indicates statistical knowledge and blue font indicates nonstatistical knowledge.