Douglas Whitaker

Douglas Whitaker is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Mount Saint Vincent University, specializing in statistics and data science education research. His work focuses on developing and validating instruments to measure attitudes toward statistics and data science, with significant contributions to understanding the learning environment and student experiences in quantitative disciplines.

Dr. Whitaker's research interests center on statistics education, data science pedagogy, and educational assessment. He has developed several influential instruments including S-SOMAS (Student Survey of Motivational Attitudes toward Statistics) and S-SOMADS (Student Survey of Motivational Attitudes toward Data Science). His work addresses critical challenges in measuring student attitudes, instructor effectiveness, and learning environments in statistics education. He has extensively researched conceptual understanding in statistics through the LOCUS (Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics) project, contributing to assessment design and validation frameworks.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent focus on improving measurement in statistics education. His work spans instrument development, validation studies, and explorations of student attitudes and learning environments. The research demonstrates increasing attention to data science education alongside traditional statistics education, reflecting the evolving landscape of quantitative disciplines in higher education. His publications frequently address methodological challenges in educational measurement and contribute to establishing validity evidence for assessment instruments.

Dr. Whitaker has made significant contributions to understanding exemplary statistics teaching practices and the developmental experiences of effective statistics educators. His research provides valuable insights for statistics instructors seeking to improve their teaching effectiveness and better understand student experiences in quantitative courses.