Event Description
Speaker: Dr. Jana Asher, Associate Professor, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Jana Asher is a statistician with current research interests in record
linkage, the history of statistics, and statistics education. Her pedagogical
research focuses on methods for improving understanding of statistical
concepts, improving attitudes towards statistics, and developing quantitative
literacy as a civics skill within statistics coursework.
She is studying the
effectiveness of two complementary approaches to statistics education: 1)
Teaching statistics through a DEI-informed lens by connecting statistical
concepts to concepts of societal power structures, marginalization/privilege,
intersectional social identities, and equity; and 2) Use of community-engaged
pedagogy within statistics classes.
Dr. Asher has been recognized for teaching excellence as a graduate
student, at Montgomery College, and at the Slippery Rock University of
Pennsylvania. Over the past four years, Dr. Asher has published several
peer-reviewed papers on the use of community-engaged pedagogy and DEI-infused
approaches in statistics education. She recently presented her pedagogical
research as an invited talk at the International Conference on Teaching
Statistics in Rosario, Argentina in October of 2022.
Dr. Asher is an established member of the statistics community, and she
leverages her connections within that community to introduce students to the
field more holistically through internships, research projects, and attendance
at professional meetings. Dr. Asher became a Fellow of the American Statistical
Association (ASA) in 2009 and an Elected Member of the International
Statistical Institute (ISI) in 2010. She is an Accredited Professional
Statistician® through the ASA, and she received the 2022 Societal Impact Award
from the Caucus for Women in Statistics. Dr. Asher volunteers as a member of
the Board of Directors of the ASA and as the Chair of the Committee on the
History of Statistics for the ISI. |
