Copilot for introductory statistics and data science

In Fall 2023, Gourab Mukherjee and I co-taught GSBA 524: Data Science for Business, a core course in the full-time MBA program at USC Marshall. We saw an opportunity to use a new generative AI tool for teaching in this class. We share about our experience here for those who may be interested in teaching in this way as well.

• Paper: Generative AI for Data Science 101: Coding Without Learning To Code

• Slides: From May 2024 talk at retreat for stats/biostats curriculum reform

• 10 minute talk: From ASA panel on Generative AI in Statistics and Data Science Classrooms

• Short demos from talk:

1. Basic usage as English-to-code translator:

2. Importance of writing specific prompts and thinking about context window (Principles 1 and 2 in slides):

3. Breaking down complex operations into simple steps (Principle 3 in slides):

4. R Markdown demo