SLU Professor Says Statistics Is the Everyday Math Everyone Needs to Know
R. Lauren Miller Will Present “A Case for High School Statistics” at TEDx St. Louis
ST. LOUIS - Math applied is math remembered, according to R. Lauren Miller, Ed.D., assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at Saint Louis University. Miller argues that a solid foundation in statistics provides people with numerical literacy and reduces math anxiety.
“I use statistics every day,” she said. “And not just because I’m a math professor. Statistics provides a framework to understand the data around us.”
R. Lauren Miller, Ed.D., is an assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at Saint Louis University. Photo by Sarah Conroy.
Miller will present “A Case for High School Statistics” at the Curiosity by TEDx St. Louis event on Saturday, May 31, at the Missouri History Museum.
Miller has been working towards presenting at a TEDx event for the past few years.
“Each year, when the call for people to audition would go out, I’d send in my 100-word pitch,” she said. “The first year my pitch was on prison education and how education is a great equalizer. In the second year, I focused on how teaching to the whole student was important for overall wellness.”
Statistics education was her third pitch.
Miller said she loved going through the audition process.
“Once it gets narrowed to about 30 people, you get three minutes on a stage to state your case,” she said.
Once picked to present at Curiosity by TEDx, Miller was assigned two coaches and began to work with them, as well as fellow presenters.
“It’s a lot of prep,” she said. “We’ve done workshops on how to tell a good story and overall presentation. We have had group practices and work individually with coaches.”
Miller said she enjoyed getting feedback throughout the process.
“My day job is about 85 percent knowing math and about 15 percent public speaking,” she said. “I don’t know if I can fully translate the feedback to improving how I teach, but speaking is a part of my job, and I’m enjoying learning more.”
Miller just completed her fifth year at SLU, having begun her career at the University as an adjunct in 2020. She teaches developmental algebra through calculus, statistics, and mathematics for education majors. She also oversees the first-year graduate assistants teaching their first semester.
“I teach the same course they are teaching, so we have the opportunity to talk through the course and what’s going on,” she said. “It’s a privilege to get to work with those in their first year of graduate school and make sure they have the support they need to have the best experience possible.”
Miller said her belief that statistics was the best math course for the public stemmed from her work with 1818 students at SLU.
“So many high schools were canceling statistics classes to make way for calculus,” she said. “Calculus is important, but it isn’t as applicable in everyday life and we don’t want people lacking a foundation in math education. Knowing statistics provides literacy in our data-driven society and can help combat math anxiety.”
Miller said her goal is to help students find ways to connect to the material.
“Even if you are taking a course you don’t like, you can find something you can connect with and you can enjoy,” she said.
Finding connections to the material has been important for her students on campus at SLU, as well as for the incarcerated students Miller through SLU and Washington University’s prison education programs. She said some of her favorite classes have been with her incarcerated students.
“When we were fully online, we really worked to connect and bond. That has carried forward. For some of these students, mine is the first math class they have taken,” she said. “These are students who are in class because they really want to learn what I am teaching.”
Miller is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Education Policy and Equity from Saint Louis University. Her research and course development focus on math remediation and supporting formally incarcerated and non-traditional students.
About TEDx St. Louis
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. In St. Louis, the mission is to foster positive public relations for the St. Louis region, resulting in impactful and meaningful engagement by showcasing St. Louis' profound impact on our local community, the nation, and the world.
About Saint Louis University
Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic research institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 15,300 students a rigorous, transformative education that challenges and prepares them to make the world a better place. As a nationally recognized leader in research and innovation, SLU is an R1 research university, advancing groundbreaking, life-changing discoveries that promote the greater good.
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