Dear Instructor,

 

Are you currently teaching an introductory statistics course at the postsecondary level? If yes, I am writing to request your assistance in helping to gather data to assist in the development of a learning map of topics typically taught in introductory statistics. A theoretical map (Stat-LM) of statistics knowledge and skills exists, but to determine whether the theoretical arrangement of knowledge and skills is accurate for actual students, we need information about how students think about statistical ideas and problems. The research team has assembled the Stat-LM Assessment, which will be presented in an online Qualtrics survey.

Our team requests your help at this time by asking your students to complete the Stat-LM Assessment. Each participating student will receive about 30 items, and different students may receive different collections of items. All items relate to material taught in a typical introductory statistics course. Student responses to the questions will used to assess the accuracy of the hypothesized structure of our learning map model.

 

 

The first 50 instructors who volunteer, and whose students complete the Stat-LM Assessment, will receive a $40 Amazon gift card. In addition to a report including the names of your participating students, we will share a summary of the statistical knowledge captured from all participating students. Instructors may choose to administer the assessment items to your students either inside or outside of the classroom. You may want to offer extra credit to your students as an incentive.

 

Ideally, we would prefer that your student complete the Stat-LM Assessment by December 17, 2021. If this will not be possible, please let me know. I sincerely hope that you will be able to help during this phase of our study.

 

The information collected about your students will be used by:

Dr. Laura Ziegler, Iowa State University

Dr. Angela Broaddus, Benedictine College

Dr. Jonathan Templin, the University of Iowa

 

Please let us know if you are interested by filling out this survey:  https://iastate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4UiAAxmt4RXCUMS.

 

Sincerely,

 

Laura Ziegler

Iowa State University

Department of Statistics

lziegler@iastate.edu

 

Researcher Contact Information

Angela Broaddus, PhD                                              

Principal Investigator

Mathematics and Computer Science

Benedictine College

1020 North 2^nd Street

Atchison, Kansas 66002

913-360-7435

abroaddus@benedictine.edu