Designing massive open online courses for educators: The case of teaching statistics

Statistics receives attention through global curriculum. Some have designed professional development for teachers to develop their statistical content and pedagogy, typically on a small local scale. Online courses can expand the number of teachers involved and create communities beyond school or district lines. For a “massive” and “open” course, there are many design challenges to meet the needs of participants with varied backgrounds in teaching statistics. We will share how a Massive Open Online Course for Educators (MOOC-Ed) designed in the USA, but offered and taken by educators from around the world, including Australia and New Zealand, presents design challenges for how to best impact teachers’ learning and classroom practices. For this paper, we will focus on course design principles, the design and implementation of a framework for supporting students’ approaches to statistical investigations and a task guide to assist teachers in evaluating, designing, and implementing worthwhile statistical tasks. We will share participants’ engagement with the course and evidence we have collected suggesting impacts on their classroom practice.