Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7354-180X

Date Available

12-8-2025

Year of Publication

2025

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College

Education

Department/School/Program

Education Sciences

Faculty

Jennifer A Wilhelm

Abstract

Project-based instruction is an instructional methodology based in constructivism that aligns with recommendations from the American Statistical Association for teaching statistics, including incorporating real-world data and examples, collaboration, and scaffolding (GAISE College Report ASA Revision Committee, 2016; GAISE Steering Committee, 2024; Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2005; Tishkovskaya & Lancaster, 2012). This study examined current use of project-based instruction in United States higher education courses in statistics and the supports for and challenges to implementing this type of instruction.

This study used qualitative research methodology in the integrative pedagogy and diffusion of innovation frameworks. Voluntary response surveys were distributed via two sections of the American Statistical Association that have focus on teaching and the listserv for the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education. Additional interviews and focus groups were conducted; the participants were drawn from those who indicated on the initial survey that they would like to participate further. Open-ended questions and focus group transcripts were summarized using thematic analysis, and closed-ended questions were quantified using basic statistical summaries.

Results suggest that project-based instruction may not be fully adopted, but there are ways that instructors incorporate aspects of project-based instruction that still align with the recommended guidelines. A main focus of the authentic inquiry piece of project-based instruction was the choice of dataset, whether provided by instructors, found by students, or collected by students. While time cost and commitment, student background, and coordination and curriculum were seen as challenges, participants also included ways they or others had addressed those challenges. Supports in place included resources (e.g., colleagues, staff, workshops, and trainings) and coordination and curriculum. As the field of statistics requires reasoning about data and information, the idea of data access and aligning projects to good data arose frequently. Thus, this is an area for future exploration and could be a way to address adoption of PBI more broadly.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.559

Funding Information

This study was supported in part by funding through the STEM Education Department at the University of Kentucky in 2025.

Download

Share

COinS