We are proposing a statistical methods sequence, each having separate lecture-based and stat laboratory components. First, the lecture-based courses will allow a through examinations of the "when to" and "what-to", while the statistical lab will not only expose the student to the "how-to", but through simulations and discipline related problems motivate and demonstrate the underlying concepts discussed in the course lectures. The components should compliment each other, rather than be adversarial. Secondly, on many campuses across the country questions arise concerning how to incorporate writing in the undergraduate curriculum. The MTH 441/442 sequence is a perfect venue for incorporating student writing in a mathematics course. One objective of this revised MTH 441/442 sequence is to encourage student development of writing skills. The assignment in the stat lab sessions are to be completed in a report format. Using the edit options in the Primos System (if done on the mainframe) or the available text editing software on the PC, the student will be expected to "clean-up" the output from the statistical package and coherently express their analysis of the results in a written report. Not only should the statistical lab contribute to their mastery of the "how-to" of packages such as Minitab, SPSSx, and SAS, but the student should benefit from gaining stronger written communications skills.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education