Webinar : Presented by Jeff Witmer
Title: Regression to the Mean/The regression effect
Please sign up to register, link to register: [ https://www.causeweb.org/cause/webinar/teaching/2017-10 | https://www.causeweb.org/cause/webinar/teaching/2017-10 ]
Abstract: Regression to the mean, also known as "the regression effect," is an important but sometimes overlooked topic in introductory statistics. We will discuss the regression effect and how to teach it. We will also consider a number of examples of the "regression fallacy," in which people who are ignorant of the regression effect make up ad hoc (and sometimes very misleading) explanations for what they see in data.
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Logistics: The webinar will be conducted using the GoToWebinar software platform. A computer with internet access is all you need. GoToWebinar offers audio participation through your computer microphone.
All registered webinar attendees will receive a confirmation email generated by the GoToWebinar system upon registering. This email includes a link to enter the webinar . Keep this confirmation email as you will use this link to enter the webinar – you will also be sent a reminder with the link two hours before the webinar begins. Once you leave the webinar , you cannot re-enter. If you have not used GoToWebinar before, please review the information below. The webinar will be recorded and the archived version will be available on-line within a few days following the presentation, if you are unable to attend.
For PC-based participants:
* Internet Explorer 7.0 or newer, Mozilla Firefox 4.0 or newer or Google Chrome 5.0 or newer. JavaScript must be enabled.
* Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server.
* Cable modem, DSL, or better Internet connection.
* Dual-core 2.4GHz CPU or faster with 2GB of RAM or more.
* Participants wishing to connect to audio using VoIP will need a fast Internet connection, a microphone and speakers (or USB headset).
For Mac-based participants:
* Safari 3.0 or newer, Firefox 4.0 or newer or Google Chrome 5.0 or newer. JavaScript must be enabled.
* Mac OS X 10.6 – Snow Leopard or newer.
* Intel processor with 1GB of RAM or more.
* Cable modem, DSL, or better Internet connection.
* Macs have built-in speakers and a microphone with ambient noise reduction that will work well for VoIP.
Instructors needed for experimental testing of interactive song pedagogy
Project SMILES (Student-Made Interactive Learning with Educational Songs) is looking for spring semester field testers of the interactive songs we have developed in our NSF project for statistical literacy and reasoning in the introductory course (for a 6-minute tour/demo, see [ https://www.causeweb.org/voices/2017/poster/8 | https://www.causeweb.org/voices/2017/poster/8 ] ). This will involve a randomized controlled experiment amongst the students in your course, where some students will take part in a few activities using interactive songs while others will complete other activities on the same topics. These online activities take approximately 5-10 minutes per learning objective addressed. All students will complete one multiple choice assessment item per objective for the songs chosen, which will involve a real-world context and will be embedded in course exams. Instructors taking part will receive a consulting fee for their efforts. For more details, please contact John Weber at jweber13(a)gsu.edu
Thank You from the SMILES PIs
John Weber, Larry Lesser, and Dennis Pearl
The Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education is happy to announce our 18th Cartoon Caption Contest. Each month a cartoon, drawn by British cartoonist John Landers, will be posted for you and your students to suggest statistical captions. (note the cartoons are posted at the beginning of the previous month)
The next cartoon and the entry rules for the contest ending November 30th are at
[ https://www.causeweb.org/cause/caption-contest/november/2017/submissions | https://www.causeweb.org/cause/caption-contest/november/2017/submissions ]
The best captions will be posted on CAUSEweb and the winner(s) will receive their choice of a coffee mug or t-shirt imprinted with the cartoon or free registration to eCOTS 2018.
Enjoy.
October Results. We had 29 submissions for the October caption contest that featured a cartoon showing four magicians auditioning with each one reaching into a hat. One of the magicians has a much larger hat than the others (also the cartoon does not show the bottom half of the bodies of the other magicians). The winning caption for the October contest was “Since Joe was the only one to do a power analysis before starting, he was the only one with the size necessary to get the desired effect,” written by Greg Snow from Brigham Young University. The judges felt that Greg’s caption provided a nice avenue for facilitating discussions of planning for adequate sample sizes in experiments. An honorable mention in the same vein also goes to “The bigger the sample size, the bigger the magic,” written by Malcolm Wells, a student at New College of Florida. Another honorable mention was given to the caption: “The audience at the ASA magic show was so enamored with the big hat that they failed to notice that the statisticians with the traditional hats were levitating with no visible support,” written by Jim Alloway of EMSQ Associates. The latter caption may be used in discussing the value as well as the pitfalls of big data.
Thanks to everyone who submitted a caption and congratulations to our Winners!
Seeking proposals for CAUSE webinars
The CAUSE webinar series has produced 184 webinars over the last decade on a wide variety of statistics education and statistics education research topics. They continue to be very popular both from the participants’ point of view and as an archived resource on CAUSEweb.
This note is to get your help in suggesting ideas for our next year of webinars. Is there a topic you’d like to see presented? Is there something you’ve done that you’d like to share? Is there a person doing great work that you’d like to hear from?
Send your ideas and feedback to Dennis Pearl ( dkp13(a)psu.edu ).
Thanks