Inge makes sure that Psychology students are ready for their Bachelor’s thesis statistics-wise. In the first year she teaches the courses Methods of Research and Statistics 1, and in the second year Statistics 2 and Data Analysis follow. While statistics isn’t everyone’s favourite, Inge does notice that a lot of students seem to grasp it eventually. “Some even discover that statistics can be quite fun. Others still view the course as something they simply have to do, but at the end of their programme I often hear that it wasn’t so bad after all.”
Inge doesn’t exactly know where her own enthusiasm for statistics comes from. “It’s an anomaly, I think, haha! I simply liked statistics during my student days and I was also good at it. I eventually chose to do the specialisation in Mathematical Psychology, where I also had to teach seminars. I found out I really like teaching and I still do it gladly.” Inge hopes to inspire a similar enthusiasm in her students. “It is a challenge to explain statistics properly to students who struggle with it, but I want everyone to be able to finish the course with a nice grade.” Inge says it’s all about discipline and keeping up with the learning materials. “Procrastination will only make it harder. That’s why I try to be approachable and to structure my classes clearly. I’m just like the tax office: I can’t make it more fun, but I can make it easier!”
Challenges will always be there according to Inge. “Taking over the statistics courses was a challenge; especially because I wanted to make improvements to a course that was already doing well. It remains difficult to look for possible improvements.” Furthermore, Psychology will undergo a curriculum change, which means that Inge will have to adapt her courses accordingly. “And then there are also the budget cuts… As a teacher you really want to remain approachable and to be able to answer all questions, but there is less and less time to do so and now there is also a smaller budget. We want to keep the quality of our education at a high level, but it will be a challenge to do so. Regardless, I have faith that it will all be alright.”
Lastly, Inge is involved with the Statistical and Methodological Advice Point (SMAP), where students of Psychology, Pedagogical Sciences, and Educational Sciences can go for all their methodological and statistical questions regarding their research. “I use the questions that we receive to improve the education I provide. At SMAP I notice what the bottlenecks are and what my colleagues and I need to pay more attention to. That is why I advise students to use SMAP if they need help.”