Implementing version control with Git and GitHub as a learning objective in statistics and data science courses

Abstract: A version control system records changes to a file or set of files over time so that changes can be tracked and specific versions of a file can be recalled later. As such, it is an essential element of a reproducible workflow that deserves due consideration among the learning objectives of statistics and data science courses. This paper describes experiences and implementation decisions of four contributing faculty who are teaching different courses at a variety of institutions. Each of these faculty have set version control as a learning objective and successfully integrated one such system (Git) into one or more statistics courses. The various approaches described in the paper span different implementation strategies to suit student background, course type, software choices, and assessment practices. By presenting a wide range of approaches to teaching Git, the paper aims to serve as a resource for statistics and data science instructors teaching courses at any level within an undergraduate or graduate curriculum.