Dennis Pearl (Pennsylvania State University), Larry Lesser (University of Texas at El Paso), John Weber (GSU Perimeter College)
Abstract
Change the rhythm of your class! NSF Project SMILES (Student-Made Interactive Learning with Educational Songs, causeweb.org/smiles/) offers a free collection of 28 interactive introductory statistics songs for which students choose content/context-relevant inputs that will appear in the song played back to them through an online platform. Topics span data gathering to statistical inference, with conceptual focus over memorization. We’ll motivate and demonstrate this innovation, and discuss its evaluation at diverse 2- and 4-year colleges. SMILES’ interactiveness may improve depth and duration of student engagement with material and performance on learning objectives.
After experiencing and critiquing the innovation, attendees will discuss how this resource would be best used (and assessed) within their courses and have the opportunity to suggest learning objectives for future SMILES songs. The SMILES approach can transfer to other STEM content areas (see causeweb.org/voices/). Earbuds available for those wanting to be left to their own devices. Handouts!