• to show the benefits of using Gapminder.org in creating project-based activities for a large intro stats course.

• to illustrate how using such activities can engage and connect students across disciplines.

• has 150-180 students
• with three TAs
• is conducted in a large lecture hall
• Formed over 40 groups of three to four members.

Advantage: make-up of students, from all walks of disciplines or majors.

Disadvantage: make-up of students, with different preparation levels for learning statistics

• is a fact-based website displaying data, statistics, and videos on social issues such as HIV, Child mortality, global health statistics.

• provides extensive datasets of all the indicators about the social and economic world

• uses animated buble plots to creatively present data on multiple dimensions

• Gapminder website: http://www.gapminder.org/

• Created project-based activities for students to investigate topics of their interest.

• Facilitated students to work in groups.

• First, each member viewed two Gapminder videos, explored Gapminder website and searched for a topic of interest.

• Then, the group voted for the common topic.

• Project website: https://sites.google.com/site/gapminderproject

• The project was divided into five checkpoints, each due weekly.
  • Checkpoint 1: Research Introduction
  • Checkpoint 2: Exploratory Data Analysis
  • Checkpoint 3: Modeling and Inference
  • Checkpoint 4: Discussion and Conclusion
  • Checkpoint 5: Presentation
• Final Products include:
  • A 5-minute screencast video with all group member voices.
  • A full research paper (10-12 page max)
  • An in-class presentation
  • A poster

• Groups of three or four were formed using a random selection process.

• Group make-up often included members from across disciplines

• Each group elected a group leader, exchange email and contact information.

• Each group established a shared platform to faciliate collaboration and communication such as Google Doc, Facebook page, Dropbox folder, etc.

• Students worked in groups with diverse background members, benefit from one another.
• Teamwork allowed for real-life experience of workplace.
• Learn to collaborate and communicate with one another
• Make new friends, not feeling isolated in large a lecture hall course
• Learn to work with real data
• Realized the potential of statistics
• Investigated meaningful topics of choice
• Engaged in real learning
• Felt compelled to do research and extra readings on topic
• Learn to utilize different technologies to analyze data, collaborate, and create a video
• Statistics software: StatCrunch and Fathom
• Screencast Video tool: Jing or YouTube
• Google Drive: google doc, presentation, and spreadsheet.

• Group work: couch-potato and hitch hiker members
• Difficult to coordinate times and activities
• Different background levels - different expectations
• For instructor: Managed large number of groups, answered enormous amount of email daily

• Screencast Video

1.Relationship between Improved Access to Sanitation and Life Expectancy http://screencast.com/t/kZSbHPRtBpN

2.Baby Boom http://screencast.com/t/4Q0604YHbTx

3.Relationship between Female Children Out of School and Age of First Marriage for Women http://www.screencast.com/t/sBY2tbNqhG0n

4.Infant Mortality versus Urban Population http://screencast.com/t/fBkuc4oW

5.Child Mortality Rate versus Income per person http://screencast.com/t/w7U4Gr2HL

• Poster Slideshow