Conference Paper

  • A two-year clinical research curriculum offered in a graduate program at a U.S. chiropractic college was implemented in Fall 2003 and enrolls three to six chiropractors per year. The curriculum includes ten credit hours of required courses in biostatistics. Introductory courses in biostatistical thinking and reasoning and data management are offered the first term, followed by basic statistical methods, statistical graphics, and advanced topics over the next three terms. Trainees typically have little previous exposure to statistics, so program objectives move from developing critical appraisal skills to writing strong data-related sections in grant applications. As graduates will likely pursue careers at chiropractic colleges with little or no research infrastructure, nor necessarily a research culture, it is paramount they develop a strong foundation in research methods and become proficient users of statistical tools to succeed.

  • Statistical consulting not only provides real life examples to mention in class; it provides a reality check that influences the way we teach and the choice of topics to teach or emphasize. The focus of this paper is on topics that are frequently omitted or not emphasized but which we consider important as a direct result of consulting experiences. The first four belong to introductory courses and among them are data issues, the test of hypothesis about proportions for small samples using the binomial distribution and some topics on categorical data analysis. The last two topics, one on statistical models and the other in time series, belong to upper division courses.

  • Education in methods of applied statistics is important for students who will be involved in management and decision-making processes. This paper discusses issues related to the teaching of statistics to students enrolled in an undergraduate environmental science degree course. The aim is to describe the teaching of graphical and numerical methods for summarizing and exploring data obtained in environmental studies. The application of descriptive and exploratory methods provides useful information regarding the distribution of the data at hand and of its patterns and associations. These methods are presented at the beginning of the course, following an introduction to the steps involved in the process of learning from data through the use of statistics. Students are instructed in the reading and interpretation of graphic and numeric data summary techniques. The importance of visualizing the main patterns and associations in the data is emphasized using environmental examples.

  • Geostatistics is sometimes a difficult leap for even those individuals well versed in classical statistics. The impact of data location in spatial statistics may be only vaguely understood initially. Visualization tools that allow the student or practitioner to see the impact of moving data, adding additional data, deleting data, adding fault lines, changing search radiuses, and so forth aid the learning of geostatistical concepts. Due to page limitations only a few items are briefly illustrated. This visualization software called the Kriging Game is available free at http://geoecosse.bizland.com/softwares/ . This site also has other free geostatistical software and tutorials.

  • One of the biggest challenges statisticians face when working with non-statisticians on applied problems is to be able to effectively communicate the statistical results. In this paper we discuss the use of interactive visualization as a tool to present the relationship between a binary response and a set of explanatory variables. The visualization system we present allows users to "manipulate" directly, dynamically, and interactively their data set. At a first level, this allows to integrate visualization with a classical statistical analysis by providing interactive 3D views of the data set. Beyond its potential use as a straightforward visualization tool, this new system opens up interesting possibilities for exploring data visually, by its better exploitation of the human visual system. The paper presents an example of exploring visual relationships between environmental variables and the presence/absence of Lyme disease in Rhode Island.

  • This paper illustrates by means of an important European survey on earnings how user-friendly interactive visualisation tools can be applied to communicate results of official statistics and to connect official statistics to the world of statistics education. The visualisation tools presented are self-contained with built-in methodological comments. They can be used offline on a CD-ROM or as part of dynamic PowerPoint presentations. They might be likewise used online on the Web sites of statistical offices, possibly embedded in virtual libraries, or as an integral part of electronic publications.

  • Numerous researchers and educators lament the poor state of statistical literacy and statistical skills in the population. However, few authors base their arguments on actual results from comparative or large-scale studies which provide stable, population-level estimates of performance. This talk will present and discuss selected results regarding statistical skills of adults in multiple countries, based on analysis of two data sources. Secondary analyses of data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), conducted in 1994-1998 in over 20 countries, were performed with regard to items assessing understanding of bar graphs and pie charts. Implications will be discussed in terms of the need for teaching statistics with a focus on interpretation and communication and on using real-life contexts and tasks in instruction. Conclusions will also be presented regarding the importance of conducting analytic assessments which shed light on multiple types and levels of statistical skills.

  • In line with the reform efforts in statistics education that emphasized the development of statistical literacy skills, we explored instructional goals and classroom practices of 12 college statistics teachers and analyzed them using Gal's statistical literacy model. Through focus group discussions, we find that their goals and practices in the teaching-learning-assessment cycle are primarily based on mathematical and statistical knowledge and only three displayed evidence of literacy and context knowledge, and the capability for critical questions. While these teachers indicated positive attitude towards the promotion of statistical literacy, there are gaps between attitude and classroom implementations. Aside from the need for alignment of instruction and assessment with this goal, there is need for concerted efforts towards equipping statistics teachers with the knowledge and resources necessary in the promotion of statistical literacy.

  • In this paper, we examine some results from a series of interviews carried out by e-mail with an international group of statistics educators, all of them members of the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE). We asked for their ideas on the qualities of 'good' statistics teachers and ways in which they could develop as statistics educators. Follow-up questions explored their answers in depth. The responses highlight the diversity of views about recognising and developing good statistics teachers at tertiary level, an important consideration for any discussion on professional practice and certification in statistics education.

  • The International Association for Statistical Education, IASE, has a very strong commitment to the general development of statistical educators including research and the sharing of ideas and experiences. In particular the IASE/ISI satellite meetings are always very friendly, informative affairs as was the one in Sydney April 4-5, 2005. The theme was Statistics Education and the Communication of Statistics, it was jointly organised by the IASE and the Victorian Branch of the Statistical Society of Australia and immediately preceded the ISI session in Sydney. The theme of the conference was chosen because some IASE members felt that the communication of statistical methods and results needed more emphasis in our courses and wished to draw the attention of statistics educators to this area to encourage development and innovation. This paper summarises the main points the speakers made and the main issues that emerged.

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