The implicit power of Statistics is that it is a tool of thinking, in particular critical thinking. The paper will clarify how can we teach statistics in order to help students to use the statistical concepts in their cognitive activities according to standards and elements of critical thinking. Some practical, interesting and different examples from secondary school statistics will be given.
The availability of technology opens up opportunities for students to explore larger datasets and to gain experience of the effects of random variation. We have been involved in a development project to produce materials, with a sound pedagogical basis, to support the construction of accurate conceptual understanding of key statistical concepts. This paper presents the range of materials from the project and outline the pedagogical basis for them in light of the question posed in the title.
The CensusAtSchool project involves young people between the ages of 7 and 16 in gathering some simple information about themselves, which then form the basis of a national database for school children to use for data handling within many varied subject areas in school. At the very heart of the project the CensusAtSchool website http://www.censusatschool.ntu.ac.uk gives schools the opportunity to access and use the web within a learning environment. Summary data is posted on the site for schools to use along with a variety of curriculum tasks, which encourage greater use of ICT methods. South Africa and Queensland have both taking up the project within their own regions so expanding the project into providing opportunities for international comparisons to be made. The beauty of CensusAtSchool is that the data is real and the pupils themselves are fully involved.
In this paper we will present ways in which we have improved our introductory statistics courses by making connections with our community. We focus on three primary approaches: course structure, course content, and bringing in outside contacts and experiences. Changes to course structure include things like course projects and assignments that form an explicit part of the course workload for students. Our discussion of course content will consist of examples we use to illustrate learning objectives through a community connection. We then discuss how we incorporate consulting and other outside contacts to improve our courses. We also discuss student feedback and reactions.
Statistical software has made traditional statistical calculations accessible to almost anyone, but it has also stimulated new methods that are usually reserved for advanced courses. In this paper I argue for inclusion in the first course of non-parametric smoothing, density estimation, coplots, simulation, the bootstrap, time series forecasting, and plots of multivariate data. It is argued that the logic underlying these techniques is simpler and more useful than the logic underlying the inference usually included in first service courses in statistics.
This paper describes the experience of synthesis of concepts learnt in a semester-long statistical concepts course into a major piece of work. In the University of Canberra course entitled "The World of Chance", the major assessment item is a group project. Groups of two or three students identify a research question to study via a small experiment or observational study, carry out the data collection, calculate descriptive statistics and draw simple conclusions on the basis of those statistics. In 2001, in an attempt to enhance the integration of topics across the course in their assessment, all students were directed to carry out a project involving an experiment. This paper describes the material covered in class on experimental design, and the workshop activities used to support this material. This paper also describes a selection of the topics investigated by students, and discusses the degree of integration achieved by the students in their projects.
This paper examines briefly some of the problems of teaching statistics to agriculture students in the traditional manner. The current teaching has consisted of foundation courses on the statistical concepts at undergraduate level followed by a design and analysis of experiments course at postgraduate level. This is compared with a newer approach which comprises a change at both levels. With the traditional approach the students found it difficult to integrate the statistical concepts into their project work, and this undermined the quality of their research. The new approach concentrates on exploring the whole process of planning and implementing research projects and includes an intensive course in basic statistical concepts, with emphasis on critical thinking in problem solving. The paper ends with an evaluation of the impact of this approach at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and with plans for the future.
We have developed a model for teaching mathematical statistics through detailed case studies. We use these case studies to bridge the gap between statistical theory and practice, and to help students develop an understanding of the basic ideas in mathematical statistics. We also use them to motivate students to explore the concepts of statistics. Although we strongly advocate teaching mathematical statistics through case studies, there are many challenges that arise from this approach. In this paper, we describe how we incorporate case studies in the course, outline the challenges that we face in adopting this approach, and discuss our efforts to overcome these challenges.
This paper presents some issues arising in the use of unscripted consulting projects for final year undergraduate students. The issues relate to the context and difficulty of the projects, the supervisor's role, the technical and interpersonal skills required to be developed by the student, the randomness of consulting projects, with their concomitant frustrations and messiness; and the role of such projects in the transition to work as a statistician. It is argued that such a course provides valuable experience that cannot be achieved by simulated, scripted or more closely managed programs.
The author's approach to teaching an integrative unit to a small group of master's level Applied Statistics students in 2000-2001 is described. Details of the various activities such as data analysis, reading and discussion of papers, and training in consultancy skills are given, as also are details of the assessment. The students' and lecturer's views of the unit are discussed.