Data "hackathons"--such as the American Statistical Association DataFest--are an increasingly popular venue for college students to strengthen their data analysis skills and to network with industry professionals. Such hackathons are not (yet) part of the two-year college culture and yet, these events can serve as a useful tool for 'back engineering' a curriculum.

What should students be taught in an introductory statistics course that would prepare them to do well in a data hackathon? Why is it important that they learn these skills and concepts, whether or not they ever plan to participate in a data hackathon? We'll begin by sharing a snapshot from the 2015 ASA DataFest @ UCLA, and then talk about what this tells us about the introductory statistics curriculum.

Speakers

Robert L. Gould, UCLA