Web-augmented traditional lecture, fully online, and flipped sections, all taught by the same
instructor with the same course schedule, assignments, and exams in the same semester, were
compared with regards to student attitudes; statistical reasoning; performance on common
exams, homework, and projects; and perceptions of the course and instructor. The Survey of
Attitudes Toward Statistics-36 (SATS-36) instrument and eight questions from the Statistical
Reasoning Assessment (SRA) were given both at the beginning and end of the semester to
measure change. The students selected their own sections, but the students in the sections were
similar demographically, with similar pre-course college grade point averages. The SATS-36
showed increases in affect, cognitive competence, and perceived easiness and decreases in value, interest, and effort from beginning to end of the semester for all sections. Only affect and perceived easiness showed any differences for section, with traditional higher than online on
average for both. Results from the SRA questions showed an increase in correct statistical
reasoning skills and decrease in misconceptions for all sections over the semester. Traditional
students scored higher on average on all three exams, but there were no significant differences
between sections on homework, the project, or on university evaluations of the course or
instructor. Results are contextualized with prior educational research on course modalities, and
proposals for future research are provided.
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