Resource Library

April 28, 2009 Activity webinar presented by Herbert Lee, University of California - Santa Cruz, and hosted by Leigh Slauson, Otterbein College. Getting and retaining the attention of students in an introductory statistics course can be a challenge, and poor motivation or outright fear of mathematical concepts can hinder learning. By using an example as familiar and comforting as chocolate chip cookies, the instructor can make a variety of statistical concepts come to life for the students, greatly enhancing learning. As illustrated in this webnar, topics from variability and exploratory data analysis to hypothesis testing and Bayesian statistics can be illuminated with cookies.

April 10, 2007 webinar presented by Maria C. Pruchnicki, The Ohio State University, and hosted by Jackie Miller, The Ohio State University. Distance education and online learning opportunities, collectively known as "e-learning", are becoming increasingly used in higher education. Nationally, online enrollment increased to 3.2 million students in 2005, compared to 2.3 million in 2004. Furthermore, nearly 60% of higher education institutions identify e-learning as part of their long-term education strategy. Newer educational technologies including course management systems and Internet-based conferencing software can be used to both deliver content and engage participants as part of a social learning community. However, even experienced faculty can face pedagogical and operational challenges as they transition to the online environment. This interactive presentation discusses a systematic approach to developing web-based instruction, with an Ohio State University experience as a case example.

May 26, 2009 Activity webinar presented by Dennis Pearl, The Ohio State Unversity, and hosted by Leigh Slauson, Otterbein College. This webinar describes a computer lab activity using the Flash-based applet at www.causeweb.org/mouse_experiment to teach key principles regarding the value of random assignment. These include: 1) how it helps to eliminate bias when compared with a haphazard assignment process, 2) how it leads to a consistent pattern of results when repeated, and 3) how it makes the question of statistical significance interesting since differences between groups are either from treatment or by the luck of the draw. In this webinar, the activity is demonstrated along with a discussion of goals, context, background materials, class handouts, and assessments.

Always expect to find at least one error when you proofread your own statistics. If you don't, you are probably making the same mistake twice. Quote of american demographer Cheryl Russell appearing in "Rules of Thumb" by Tom Parker (Houghton Mifflin, 1983) p. 124. Also to be found in "Statistically Speaking the dictionary of quotations" compiled by Carl Gaither and Alma Cavazos-Gaither p. 81

The International Statistical Literacy Project (ISLP) puts out a newsletter bimonthly. According to ISLP, "The mission of the International Statistical Literacy Project (ISLP) is to support, create and participate in statistical literacy activities and promotion around the world." This newsletter is a way to get information out to those interested.

This webinar, presented by Larry Lesser of University of Texas at El Paso, provided a tour of the new CAUSEWeb fun page, showing some sample songs, jokes, and cartoons. Participants engaged in a discussion of the pedagogical issues involved in teaching with humor and were provided resources and a bibliography on the topic. Watch the webinar to learn how to make learning fun! (recorded April 11, 2006)

Webinar recorded May 9, 2006 presented by Carl Lee of Central Michigan University and hosted by Jackie Miller of The Ohio State University. Do you use hands-on activities in your class? Would you be interested in using data collected by students from different classes at different institutions? Would you be interested in sharing your students' data with others? Does it take more time than you would like to spend in your class for hands-on activities? Do you have to enter the hands-on activity data yourself after the class period? If your answer to any of the above questions is "YES", then, this Real-Time Online Database approach should be beneficial to your class. In this presentation, Dr. Lee (1) introduces the real-time online database (stat.cst.cmich.edu/statact) funded by a NSF/CCL grant, (2) demonstrates how to use the real-time database to teach introductory statistics using two of the real-time activities and (3) shares with you some of the assessment activities including activity work sheets and projects.

Webinar presented by Roger Woodard of North Carolina State University and Ginger Rowell of Middle Tennessee State University and hosted by Jackie Miller of The Ohio State University on June 13, 2006. Many people would like to use online resources in their classrooms. However, the typical online applet does not have supporting materials that allow the teacher to introduce them into the classroom. Instructors that simply point students to a website without specific instructions and planning may find that the students do not achieve the desired learning outcomes from using the applet. In this webinar Dr. Woodard presented a basic framework that instructors can use to plan and implement the use of online materials in the classroom. These are illustrated with examples that have been field tested in courses at NCSU and at MTSU.

July 11, 2006 webinar presented by Jackie Miller, Ohio State University, and David Spohn Hudson High School (first of a two-part webinar). This 30-minute webinar focused on the AP Statistics experience. David Spohn, an experienced AP Statistics teacher discussed the curriculum of AP, insights on his own teaching, and resources that are available to AP Statistics teachers. Dr. Jackie Miller, a table leader for the AP reading, talked about the AP Statistics reading experience from the point of view of a college faculty member, while David Spohn adds in his experiences as a high school reader. (also provided is information on how to get involved in the AP Statistics reading.) The webinar closes with suggestions from participants on what they believe should await AP Statistics students once they reach college.

August 8, 2006 webinar presented by David Spohn of Hudson High School. This 30-minute webinar is the second in a two-part series on the AP Statistics experience. The first part focused on the AP exam and its grading. This second part focuses on the teaching of the AP course. David Spohn, an experienced AP Statistics teacher, discusses the curriculum of AP, insights on his own teaching, and resources that are available to AP Statistics teachers.