Decision-Based Learning as an Approach for Teaching Statistics in a Peruvian University

Abstract

Many students find learning statistics difficult, especially novice learners. Instructors also struggle to teach statistics due to many challenges, such as students’ misconceptions, lack of math skills, negative attitudes, and deficient instructional methods. A new pedagogical approach called Decision-Based Learning (DBL) has been developed to help instructors and students; however there are limited studies about teachers’ and students’ experiences with this method, particularly in international settings. For this project, a group of Peruvian university professors were trained to use DBL. This qualitative study sought to understand the experiences of one Peruvian statistics instructor and her students implementing DBL pedagogy and software. The DBL software was created to help instructors easily implement DBL. Findings identify specific benefits and challenges participants faced when using DBL. Benefits included the growth of students’ confidence in solving statistical problems and instructor satisfaction. Challenges included time-consuming instructor initial preparation and students’ learning transfer issues.