Many statisticians are involved in teaching statistics either formally in a college classroom or informally in an industrial setting. Regardless of the setting, a major concern of those who teach statistics is how to ensure that students understand statistical ideas and are able to apply what they learn to real-world situations. Although teachers of statistics often express frustration about difficulties students have learning and applying course material, many may be unaware of the growing body of research related to teaching and learning statistics. In this paper I attempt to summarize this literature and apply it specifically to improving learning outcomes in college-level statistics courses.