• Prepare technicians to utilize statistical methods for continuous improvement and quality control.

• Introduce students to technical fields, technicians and workplaces which apply statistics.

• Make the courseware available to schools and workplaces, promoting the concepts of statistics education reform exemplified in the modules and curriculum.

The project will develop, pilot, evaluate and disseminate four multimedia curricular modules which feature computer simulations of real-world industrial applications to teach problem-solving with statistics, in particular statistical process control.

Authentic applications help students understand important statistical concepts by providing them with experiences and knowledge of actual work environments. The activities and materials will be developed by mathematics faculty with the partnership of regional manufacturers, a professional statistician, and a quality control engineer. A version of the modules will run over the world wide web and a version will be published on CD-ROM. Multimedia simulations will represent the actual machinery as closely and intuitively as possible. On-line guides will help those for whom the approach or the material is new. The modules will be appropriate for use in core statistics courses and for courses to upgrade the skills of the technical workforce.