Frequently Asked Questions

CourseKata is not a single course but a set of textbooks appropriate for different courses. We also provide companion Jupyter notebooks that support interactive in-class activities, as well as student projects (with rubrics), sample exams, pacing guides, and a number of other resources to support successful implementation.

Learn about the different textbooks.

CourseKata’s curriculum materials (online textbooks + in-class lessons) are normally implemented synchronously — either in person or virtually. Asynchronous and self-study implementations are also possible.

The materials were first developed for in-person instruction but the underlying technology makes it easy to transition to virtual instruction. CourseKata performed well during the pandemic.

The materials include highly interactive textbooks, delivered through your Learning Management System (LMS; e.g., Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, D2L). Students complete multiple choice and open-ended questions and do coding exercises as they read each page of the book and they receive feedback as soon as they submit their responses. The curriculum also includes materials to support in-class lessons (a Jupyter notebook starter pack). Those materials are selected and published by instructors to their students through the LMS, through which students can also submit their assignments.

Algebra I is a recommended prerequisite for using CourseKata materials. No prior experience with coding or statistics is required.

The CourseKata textbooks are written in a clear and concise style. However, some students still struggle to learn from a nonfiction text. We believe that CourseKata provides a great opportunity for students to work on their critical reading skills, and we see them succeed with the help of their instructors.

Most of our college instructors use CourseKata materials for a single term. However, some have chosen to teach with our materials for a full academic year, particularly if they’re going all the way from introductory statistics through multivariate models. We’re happy to provide guidance on how to tailor our books to your local needs.

Yes, instructors have used our materials successfully in the context of a condensed summer session.

We take what is a complex topic and turn it into a comprehensive, accessible set of materials no matter an instructor's experience with teaching, knowledge of coding, or comfort level with an online textbook. It’s for the teacher who believes all students can learn math and cares that students learn concepts that are important, relevant, rigorous, and modern.

We highly recommend that first-time CourseKata instructors participate in one of our study groups. However, many instructors are able to just dive right in. You should at least go through the textbook carefully and explore our starter pack of Jupyter notebooks. We also are available every day on Zoom office hours for any last-minute questions.

Even instructors who have experience teaching statistics often have no experience with R — or even coding in general. That’s okay! You’ll get the experience you need from the materials themselves and from participating in a study group. Of course, if you have experience, you’ll be able to put it to good use.