G. Melnik-Leroy, G. Dzemydaitė, L. Aidokas, G. Dzemyda, V. Marcinkevičius, D. Melnikienė, A. Usovaitė
CognitiveSTATS: an E-Platform for Advancing Statistical Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills
CognitiveSTATS: an E-Platform for Advancing Statistical Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills
Gerda Ana Melnik-Leroy1*, Giedrė Dzemydaitė1,2, Linas Aidokas1, Gintautas Dzemyda1, Virginijus Marcinkevičius1, Danguolė Melnikienė1,3, Ana Usovaitė1,4
1Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies, Vilnius University
2Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius University
3Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University
4Department of Graphical Systems, Vilnius Gediminas technical university
The abundance of statistical data and visualizations in contemporary society poses a significant challenge, as their misinterpretation directly impacts people’s beliefs and decisions. The global pandemic underscored the widespread deficiencies in the public’s ability to interpret statistical information critically. Crucially, these challenges persist across different domains and are expected to intensify as the reliance on data continues to grow.
In this talk, we will present the results of the interdisciplinary research project CognitiveSTATS, funded by the European Social Fund (SMART Covid call). The project aimed at developing a prototype for an innovative educational platform fostering statistical literacy. Given that most people do not have the opportunity to pursue formal education in statistics, the research-based platform created during the project aims to help the general public to develop essential statistical intuitions, crucial for comprehending and critically evaluating the most relevant data and phenomena. In order to ensure the effectiveness and attractiveness of the platform, an innovative technological solution was proposed, based on: 1. experimental research and the application of its results, 2. an innovative system architecture that considers cognitive mechanisms, 3. the development of statistical intuitions through familiar data and their visualizations.
The research conducted during the project has pinpointed significant shortcomings in statistical literacy and prevalent numerical cognitive biases within society, such as the exponential growth bias. Furthermore, the project has successfully identified common instances of graph and data manipulation in the public domain. Additionally, the research has shed light on the considerable impact of math anxiety on individuals’ engagement with mathematics and statistics.
The practical and theoretical implications of these results will be discussed, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary education for adults beyond formal schooling.
Keywords: statistical literacy; educational platform; cognitive mechanisms of learning; visualizations; math anxiety
Biography
Dr Gerda Ana Melnik-Leroy
Researcher at the Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies, Vilnius University
Dr Melnik-Leroy is a researcher in cognitive science with a PhD at the prestigious Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Psycholinguistics in Paris. Her research focuses on the cognitive mechanisms of learning, speech and information processing, and the development of evidence-based educational technologies. Her papers are published in Q1-Q2 journals indexed in Web of Science. In 2019 she received a postdoctoral fellowship to work at VU DMSTI (the Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies, Vilnius University). She has successfully led two research projects (under a grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania and the European Social Fund). In addition to this, Dr Melnik-Leroy is actively involved in applied research with the French ed-tech company EvidenceB on the applications of AI technologies to secondary education content.