Resource Library

July 13, 2010 T&L webinar presented by Webster West (Texas A&M University) and hosted by Jackie Miller(The Ohio State University). In introductory statistics courses, web-based applets are often used to visually conduct large simulation studies illustrating statistical concepts. However, it is difficult to determine what (if anything) students learn from repeatedly pressing a button when using applets. More advanced options such as writing/running computer code are typically considered to be much too advanced for most introductory courses. The web-based software package, StatCrunch, now offers simulation capabilities that strike a middle ground between these two extremes. The instructor/student needs only to perform a small number of steps using the menu driven interface with each step being key to understanding the underlying data structure. This talk will cover the steps required to study concepts such as the central limit theorem, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and regression using StatCrunch.

A cartoon for use by teachers of night statistics classes. The cartoon is the work of Theresa McCracken and appears as #7178 on McHumor.com Free for non-profit use in statistics course such as in lectures and course websites.

A cartoon for use in discussions about how to critique quantitative evidence presented in the media. The cartoon is the work of Theresa McCracken and appears as #7203 on McHumor.com Free for non-profit use in statistics course such as in lectures and course websites.

A cartoon for use in discussions about the value of an active learning environment (Showing a traditional lecturer talking to no one and running out of blackboard space on a desert island). The cartoon is the work of Theresa McCracken and appears as #5924 on McHumor.com Free for non-profit use in statistics course such as in lectures and course websites.

A cartoon for use in discussions about the value of using a placebo in an experiment. The cartoon is the work of Theresa McCracken and appears as #7813 on McHumor.com Free for non-profit use in statistics course such as in lectures and course websites.

A cartoon for use in discussions about the value of using a placebo in an experiment (especially if the results are to be analyzed using a t-test). The cartoon is the work of Theresa McCracken and appears as #6864 on McHumor.com Free for non-profit use in statistics course such as in lectures and course websites.

July 27, 2010 Activity Webinar presented by Herle McGowan, North Carolina State University and hosted by Leigh Slauson, Capital University. Extra materials available for download free of charge. In this webinar, the webinar discusses the end-of-semester project that is used in North Carolina State's introductory statistics course. This project supports statistical thinking by allowing students to apply knowledge accumulated throughout the semester. Students are presented with a research question and must design and carry out an experiment, analyze the resulting data and form a conclusion over the course of several class periods.

August 24, 2010 Activity Webinar presented by Jackie Miller, The Ohio State University and hosted by Leigh Slauson, Capital University. Extra materials available for download free of charge. When Dr. Miller took a graduate course in College Teaching, she learned the jigsaw method. The jigsaw is a cooperative learning technique where students work together in a "home" group on a specific task and then are placed into "jigsaw" groups made up of one member from each home group. For example, if there are 25 students in the class, 5 students would be assigned to each of the A, B, C, D, E home groups, and each jigsaw group would each one member from A, B, C, D, and E. While in the jigsaw groups, the students teach each other what they learned in their home groups. Dr. Miller recalls bringing the idea back with her to one of the OSU elementary statistics courses where it has been used successfully since 1996. Recently a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) suggested to other GTAs that this might be good in another introductory statistics course, and the activity has been adopted successfully . As structured, the jigsaw can be used in an exam review in statistics by assigning students to, say, 5 exercises that they need to master before they go to their jigsaw groups to teach others about their exercise. During this webinar, the webinar presents how the jigsaw is done and address questions like: How do you budget your time for this class activity? How do you know that students are teaching the correct answer? How do you know that students are not just furiously writing down answers instead of listening to understand the concept? Can this work for you? By the end of the webinar, hopefully you will be as intrigued as Dr. Miller was to learn about the jigsaw method and will want to try it in your classroom.

September 28, 2010 Activity webinar presented by Carolyn Cuff, Westminster College and hosted by Leigh Slauson, Capital University. Extra materials available for download free of charge. Students must confront their misconceptions before we can teach them new concepts. Naively, a census is an accurate method to quantify a population parameter. A very brief, memorable and easy to implement activity demonstrates that a census is at best difficult even for a small and easily enumerated population.

October 26, 2010 Activity Webinar presented by Tisha Hooks, Winona State University and hosted by Leigh Slauson, Capital University. Extra materials available to download free of charge. The purpose of this webinar is to introduce an activity to enhance students' understanding of various descriptive measures. In particular, by completing this hands-on activity students will experience a visual interpretation of a mean, median, outlier, and the concept of distance-to-mean.