Webinars

We teach counting techniques such as combinations and permutations to aid students in accurately computing the size of large "sample spaces" and "events" without the need to list each individual possibility. We believe based on personal experiences that this material is challenging for students in part due to their desire to be able to perform calculations instantaneously without the need for careful and critical analysis of the problem. We present an activity - using ideas from the games of poker and pinochle - designed to help students expand from basic counting techniques and formulas to begin to think more critically about their subtleties. In addition to involving the advanced levels of critical thinking we want students to experience, the use of poker is advantageous because it represents a real-life situation with which many students are already familiar. Our observations suggest that some students will more readily engage in the activity due to these interests. Complexity is added by utilizing the less familiar Pinochle deck. While this activity has been tailored for use with statistics majors and future teachers at NKU, we believe the activity to be both entertaining and applicable for many different levels of students (including high-school discrete mathematics courses that have substantial probability components). We will discuss the activity including learning outcomes, rationale, and opportunities for teachable moments.

Some of the challenges that we face teaching introductory statistics are the students' fear of mathematics and negative perceptions of the subject that they bring with them as enter the classroom. In an attempt to change these negative associations we have begun teaching theme-based introductory statistics courses that emphasize reading and writing integrated with the usual emphasis on quantitative reasoning. In this presentation we will discuss how using a central theme and incorporating reading and writing has affected both the way we teach the course and the experience that the students have.

Class activities that get students to physically participate in the data collection can be fun for the students, can keep them attentive during class, and can help them remember key concepts. The paper ruler activity is a fun way to solidify students' understanding of the difference between random and systematic errors and the only material needed for the activity is a piece of paper and a pen/pencil.

Abstract: A homework/e-textbook prototype (lecturebook.com) is being used in a course with >1,500 students. This prototype makes the e-textbook a supplement to the homework. Results show an increase in average grades and an increase of buy-in of the e-textbook option as students appreciate the integration of textbook with tailored homework questions. Description: Students are accustomed to accessing information immediately. So we develop ways to enhance the teaching and incorporate technological methods into all aspects of the students' learning environment. This presentation will share a new online tool (www.lecturebook.com, a new component of www.lecturetools.com), that facilitates creation and grading of homework linked to an electronic version of the course textbook. The idea is to make the e-textbook a supplement to the homework questions. This homework/e-textbook prototype has been used in an introductory statistics course with semester enrollments of over 1500 students since the Fall of 2010. A bank of customized questions has been created and linked directly to e-textbook content. The solutions can be enhanced by the instructor to go beyond just providing the correct answer. Problems are selected and assigned weekly to match content presented in lectures and lab. Students work through the weekly homework online, with direct links to the e-textbook material if questions or a review is needed. The submission of the paperless homework is automatic and set for one common time for all students (no more 'I lost my homework' or 'I forgot to turn in my homework'). Grading is completed online with the ability to provide tailored feedback quickly. Students receive the solutions immediately after submission and their scores with tailored feedback a few days later. Students have all homework assignments with their answers and feedback in one place for future reference. We have seen an increase in average grades and an increase of the buy-in of the e-textbook option as students appreciate the integration of textbook with tailored homework questions. Future plans include embedding mini video hints, tagged to specific homework questions. This tool allows students to build connections between the material they encounter to see the bigger picture. This session will demonstrate how homework assignments are set up, submitted, and graded when using the Lecturebook tool. There will also be some sharing of feedback from students and GSIs who have used this tool.

This webinar will present a simple activity/handout called happyville, a community of 100 households, that has been used successfully in statistics courses. Happyville is utilized throughout the course to aid student understanding of statistical concepts including descriptive statistics, sampling techniques, sampling variation, sampling distributions, central limit theorem, confidence level, confidence intervals and type I & II errors. The happyville activity has the beneficial properties of being used throughout the course, visual demonstration and student engagement. The activity lends itself to both hands on simulation as well as computer based simulation. The activity maintains the attention and engagement of students, enables the students to discover important statistical ideas and overcome misconceptions often encountered in introductory statistics courses. Website: http://sites.millersville.edu/krobinson/happyville/

The Journal of Statistics Education (JSE) is a leading journal for the dissemination of knowledge for the improvement of statistics education at all levels, including elementary, secondary, post-secondary, post-graduate, continuing, and workplace education. Current JSE Editor John Gabrosek will discuss how JSE handles submissions. Discussion will include guidelines and tips for writing papers for JSE and for reviewing papers as a JSE referee or Associate Editor.

This webinar explains how crossword puzzles can be used as in-class exercises, quizzes, and examination questions in applied statistics courses to assist the students in learning basic statistical terminology. It presents innovative numerical crossword puzzles that can be to ask questions about statistical software output. It explains how the use of such puzzles was impractical in the past due to time it took to construct them but that this is no longer the case with the availability of a number of Internet sites.

This webinar provides an overview of the research foundations of a radically different introductory statistics course: the CATALST course. This course teaches students the skills they need in order to truly cook with statistics, not just the procedures they need in order to follow a statistical recipe. In addition to the research foundations of the course, we will describe unique aspects of this course as well as details of a one-year teaching experiment to learn how this course can be taught and its impact on student learning.

The concept of central tendency is typically taught by presenting measures of central tendency and then describing their properties. A (perhaps) better alternative is to think about different ways in which central tendency can be defined and then find statistics that fit these definitions. An activity using Java applets that allows students to discover statistics for each of three definitions of central tendency will be presented.

Forty-three states have signed on to the mathematics part of the Common Core State Standards (CC). Statistics and Probability play a prominent part in CC grades 6-11 for all students. How may Stats 101 have to change to accommodate potentially better prepared quantitatively literate students?