TMU Psychology Professor Dr. Alyssa Counsell joins us to unpack what statistics literacy truly involves. She shares research that complicates common assumptions about “stats anxiety,” revealing that students’ attitudes are more nuanced than the usual narrative, and strongly shaped by instructor rapport. Alyssa also discusses her work experimenting with interpretation-focused assessments and why managing expectations is essential when trying something new. A practical, timely conversation for anyone teaching with data, or simply trying to make sense of it. Dr. Alyssa Counsell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University, a Teaching Fellow with TMU's Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, and the Director of the Psychology and Statistics Education Research (PASER) lab. She seeks to bridge the gap between methodological innovation and applied statistical practice. Her research explores the applications of advanced statistical models for complex psychological data, as well as statistics literacy, pedagogy, and education in the social sciences. Dr. Counsell currently holds a SSHRC Insight Grant for her research program, Improving statistics education and statistical literacy in the social sciences. Read the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3p7pzuw7
