Graduate education in natural resource fields requires high level critical thinking in specialized areas of interest to the student. This challenge is typically embraced by graduate students who are excited to be learning in the areas of their choice. Most graduate programs in natural resources require students to take a course in statistics or data analysis and natural resources research relies heavily on these tools. But many students have limited experience with quantitative science and that experience may not have been recent. This poses a challenge when teaching courses in statistics. In this presentation I will outline the challenges to teaching and the barriers to learning that can be present for some students in natural resources. I will suggest some approaches to teaching statistics that have been successful in the classroom and outline how different kinds of learning activities can be used together to improve student learning of statistics
