Perils, challenges, and triumphs: Integrating Stata and syntax into an undergraduate social statistics

Undergraduate social statistics classes are some of the most challenging to teach. One of the challenges that an instructor faces is how (or even if) to incorporate statistical software into the course. In a recent class of 75 sociology undergraduates, the course design included the use of syntax writing in Stata as a basic learning objective and wove the use and learning of syntax throughout the lectures and in all labs and a final research project. All 75 students were required to bring a laptop to class or to sign out a laptop, and labs were integrated directly with the lecture and not held in separate computer labs. This approach had many perils and challenges but also had some major triumphs. This presentation will outline the basic approach, discuss lessons learned, and suggest how this approach may be successfully used in other classroom contexts.