Welcome

I am an assistant research professor with the Department of Statistics at Pennsylvania State University's Eberly College of Science. My research passion lies within the realm of Stochastics Education. This field is relatively young and is full of opportunities for understanding how individuals think about concepts in Statistics. My dissertation work focused on students' understanding of stochastic processes as they develop a conception of a stochastic variable's distribution.

Prior to joining Penn State, I worked at the University of Northern Colorado as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics and as an Instructor for Arizona State University.


What is Stochastics Education?

Stochastics Education is the research field that is concerned with investigating, describing, and modeling how individuals think about and learn ideas in Statistics, Probability and Data Science. Our research products often inform the development of lessons, curricular materials such as texts, videos, and applets, as well as contributing the growing knowledge base for how educators can support their students in developing particular meanings. While the use of statistics and quantitative methods can happen within Stochastics Education research, many of the most powerful studies involving using qualitative methods.

Some colleagues and I have recently (2024) introduced the term Stochastics Education to replace the terms "Statistics Education" and "Statistics and Data Science Education". We felt that neither of those terms captured probability and other aspects of [applied] mathematics and computer science. Rather than adding adding more terms, we saught to simplify and lean into the unifying idea of stochasticity. I feel that this name change also preserves the historical tendency of the field to be truly multi-interdisciplinary.


Curriculum Vitae

Current Employment: Pennsylvania State University


Education:
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 		Ph.D. in Mathematics Education
Conferred May 2019
Northwest Missouri State University
Maryville, MO 		M.S.Ed. in Mathematics Education
Conferred April 2011
Doane University (formerly Doane College)
Crete, NE 		Bachelor of Science
Conferred May 2009

Curriculum Vitae

Teaching Philosophy

Statement of Education and Career Goals