Best (2001) asserts that “all statistics are socially constructed.” This paper investigates three questions. (1) Is Best’s thesis true? (2) If so, should this fact be taught in introductory statistics courses? (3) If so, what general principles involving the social construction of statistics can be taught that don’t rely on detailed knowledge of a particular subject? Isaacson (2011) notes that the social construction of statistics is readily presented by asking students “Where do statistics come from?” Results of a small survey show that statistical educators are seriously divided on whether this topic should be taught. Examples of questions and principles used in teaching Statistical Literacy at Augsburg College are presented. This paper argues that the Isaacson question, “Where do statistics come from?” is fundamental to statistical education and should be at the center of any course titled “statistical literacy”. If there isn’t time to teach this material in introductory statistics courses, then statistical educators should support offering a separate statistical literacy course in order to cover this important topic.
{"title":"Teaching the social construction of statistics","authors":"M. Schield","doi":"10.52041/srap.11604","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52041/srap.11604","url":null,"abstract":"Best (2001) asserts that “all statistics are socially constructed.” This paper investigates three questions. (1) Is Best’s thesis true? (2) If so, should this fact be taught in introductory statistics courses? (3) If so, what general principles involving the social construction of statistics can be taught that don’t rely on detailed knowledge of a particular subject? Isaacson (2011) notes that the social construction of statistics is readily presented by asking students “Where do statistics come from?” Results of a small survey show that statistical educators are seriously divided on whether this topic should be taught. Examples of questions and principles used in teaching Statistical Literacy at Augsburg College are presented. This paper argues that the Isaacson question, “Where do statistics come from?” is fundamental to statistical education and should be at the center of any course titled “statistical literacy”. If there isn’t time to teach this material in introductory statistics courses, then statistical educators should support offering a separate statistical literacy course in order to cover this important topic.","PeriodicalId":226423,"journal":{"name":"Statistics Education and Outreach IASE Satellite Conference","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129510191","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Statistics New Zealand produces and disseminates national statistics so is interested in the statistical capability of key groups of user such as government; the media and Maori (indigenous New Zealanders). In 2006 a network of academics in official statistics (NAOS) was established and its members have presented short courses for government staff (on ethics and legislation, interpreting opinion polls and demography) and actively contributed to the design and delivery of formal qualifications including the Certificate of Official Statistics and an honours/ masters paper in official statistics. This paper will be taught simultaneously to students in at least three universities by individuals from five separate institutions using video-conferencing facilities. The collaborative process and the key roles of the national statistics association in forming collegial relationships and the national statistics office in facilitating between-university cooperation are discussed.
{"title":"Collaboration and cooperation: the key to reaching out.","authors":"S. Forbes","doi":"10.52041/srap.11601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52041/srap.11601","url":null,"abstract":"Statistics New Zealand produces and disseminates national statistics so is interested in the statistical capability of key groups of user such as government; the media and Maori (indigenous New Zealanders). In 2006 a network of academics in official statistics (NAOS) was established and its members have presented short courses for government staff (on ethics and legislation, interpreting opinion polls and demography) and actively contributed to the design and delivery of formal qualifications including the Certificate of Official Statistics and an honours/ masters paper in official statistics. This paper will be taught simultaneously to students in at least three universities by individuals from five separate institutions using video-conferencing facilities. The collaborative process and the key roles of the national statistics association in forming collegial relationships and the national statistics office in facilitating between-university cooperation are discussed.","PeriodicalId":226423,"journal":{"name":"Statistics Education and Outreach IASE Satellite Conference","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114835499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
It will be argued that, at the introductory level at least, the Internet has rendered the statistics textbook redundant. This is because textbooks are inevitably out-of-date, often ossifying techniques rather than investigating fundamental concepts, especially those which continue to excite controversy to this day; these include Bayes’ theorem and the competing merits of significance testing and of confidence levels. The author will cite evidence from the library of his own former university, and outline his plans for a Statistics Vademecum. This will not be a textbook, but rather series of questions which direct the reader to look up concepts on the internet and answer Socratic-style questions about them.. The vision is that the reader should arrive at an informed opinion on the cliché ‘lies, damned lies....’, and appreciate that is neither mathematics nor IT, but rather logic that presents the challenge in understanding statistics .
{"title":"Death to the textbook!","authors":"M. Bedwell","doi":"10.52041/srap.11701","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52041/srap.11701","url":null,"abstract":"It will be argued that, at the introductory level at least, the Internet has rendered the statistics textbook redundant. This is because textbooks are inevitably out-of-date, often ossifying techniques rather than investigating fundamental concepts, especially those which continue to excite controversy to this day; these include Bayes’ theorem and the competing merits of significance testing and of confidence levels. The author will cite evidence from the library of his own former university, and outline his plans for a Statistics Vademecum. This will not be a textbook, but rather series of questions which direct the reader to look up concepts on the internet and answer Socratic-style questions about them.. The vision is that the reader should arrive at an informed opinion on the cliché ‘lies, damned lies....’, and appreciate that is neither mathematics nor IT, but rather logic that presents the challenge in understanding statistics .","PeriodicalId":226423,"journal":{"name":"Statistics Education and Outreach IASE Satellite Conference","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125765324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We present a working option for a compulsory secondary education classroom that makes it possible to increase pupils' motivation when dealing with statistical topics. Improvement occurs because the knowledge that the pupils receive is useful to them, and it makes them re-think their view of the world around them. In this respect, the orientation we take is towards work on projects related to everyday problems, with the pupils actively participating in resolving the situations put to them. The context in which the project is presented is one of collaborative learning through working together on learning scenarios, taking as a basis the European project "EarlyStatistics" whose main goal is to improve pupils' statistics education. This project has been selected for the “2009 Best Cooperative Project Award in Statistical Literacy”
{"title":"Statistics in life and for life","authors":"M. Vega, J. Cardeñoso, P. Azcárate","doi":"10.52041/srap.11108","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52041/srap.11108","url":null,"abstract":"We present a working option for a compulsory secondary education classroom that makes it possible to increase pupils' motivation when dealing with statistical topics. Improvement occurs because the knowledge that the pupils receive is useful to them, and it makes them re-think their view of the world around them. In this respect, the orientation we take is towards work on projects related to everyday problems, with the pupils actively participating in resolving the situations put to them. The context in which the project is presented is one of collaborative learning through working together on learning scenarios, taking as a basis the European project \"EarlyStatistics\" whose main goal is to improve pupils' statistics education. This project has been selected for the “2009 Best Cooperative Project Award in Statistical Literacy”","PeriodicalId":226423,"journal":{"name":"Statistics Education and Outreach IASE Satellite Conference","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127493747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maria Lucia Marçal Mazza Subdefeld, S. H. Perri, Marco Aurélio Borella Rodrigues
In the course of our experience teaching statistics to students in biological fields, we noticed that they have great difficulty understanding the statistical inference process and sampling theory. These students should be prepared to understand scientific papers, to develop research in health areas, and to establish a good relationship with patients when explaining about diseases and treatment decisions. This paper aims to test a new methodology to teach Biostatistics by developing the statistical thinking to understand inference. Two classes of biological courses at the University of São Paulo State in Araçatuba, Brazil were chosen to be the experimental and control group. In the first group, a new methodology was developed. At the end of the year, both classes were assessed on the same test as to the understanding of the statistical inference.
{"title":"An interactive methodology to teach sampling and statistical inference","authors":"Maria Lucia Marçal Mazza Subdefeld, S. H. Perri, Marco Aurélio Borella Rodrigues","doi":"10.52041/srap.11403","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52041/srap.11403","url":null,"abstract":"In the course of our experience teaching statistics to students in biological fields, we noticed that they have great difficulty understanding the statistical inference process and sampling theory. These students should be prepared to understand scientific papers, to develop research in health areas, and to establish a good relationship with patients when explaining about diseases and treatment decisions. This paper aims to test a new methodology to teach Biostatistics by developing the statistical thinking to understand inference. Two classes of biological courses at the University of São Paulo State in Araçatuba, Brazil were chosen to be the experimental and control group. In the first group, a new methodology was developed. At the end of the year, both classes were assessed on the same test as to the understanding of the statistical inference.","PeriodicalId":226423,"journal":{"name":"Statistics Education and Outreach IASE Satellite Conference","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115005284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Oftentimes, students who take (mandatory) Introductory Statistics fail to see the value of statistics for society, or for their future careers. In order to make statistics more valuable to students and show them how statistical results are put into use in the immediate region, community based group projects were introduced to students in the Netherlands. This paper reports the outcome of an evaluation of these projects. The results show that students who took part in these projects report higher self confidence and math skills and they more firmly believe in future use of statistics. Furthermore, after finishing the project they value statistics better and they believe it is less difficult. Most importantly however, the grades of students who participated in group projects improved compared to students who did not take part in any student projects in their course. Evaluations show that students start to see the added value of statistics.
{"title":"Taking statistics outside the classroom: researching the community","authors":"P. Verhoeven","doi":"10.52041/srap.11204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52041/srap.11204","url":null,"abstract":"Oftentimes, students who take (mandatory) Introductory Statistics fail to see the value of statistics for society, or for their future careers. In order to make statistics more valuable to students and show them how statistical results are put into use in the immediate region, community based group projects were introduced to students in the Netherlands. This paper reports the outcome of an evaluation of these projects. The results show that students who took part in these projects report higher self confidence and math skills and they more firmly believe in future use of statistics. Furthermore, after finishing the project they value statistics better and they believe it is less difficult. Most importantly however, the grades of students who participated in group projects improved compared to students who did not take part in any student projects in their course. Evaluations show that students start to see the added value of statistics.","PeriodicalId":226423,"journal":{"name":"Statistics Education and Outreach IASE Satellite Conference","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129838494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper examines how customer satisfaction surveys can be used as a tool for effective engagement of students who are learning introductory statistics at the tertiary education level in topics which have practical relevance for their future employment and enable an outreach into their communities. We first outline some of the core characteristics of customer satisfaction surveys, and then provide illustrative examples which demonstrate the advantages of including data from such surveys in the undergraduate statistics curriculum, e.g., with regard to going beyond technical analysis into issues of measurement, sampling methodology, data presentation, and more. Such an approach has the potential to improve students' understanding of statistics as well as their ability to interpret and discuss the results of statistical analyses within a real-world, employment-oriented context.
{"title":"Refereed paper using customer satisfaction surveys as a teaching resource in statistics education: methods and benefits","authors":"I. Gal, I. Ograjensek","doi":"10.52041/srap.111202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52041/srap.111202","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines how customer satisfaction surveys can be used as a tool for effective engagement of students who are learning introductory statistics at the tertiary education level in topics which have practical relevance for their future employment and enable an outreach into their communities. We first outline some of the core characteristics of customer satisfaction surveys, and then provide illustrative examples which demonstrate the advantages of including data from such surveys in the undergraduate statistics curriculum, e.g., with regard to going beyond technical analysis into issues of measurement, sampling methodology, data presentation, and more. Such an approach has the potential to improve students' understanding of statistics as well as their ability to interpret and discuss the results of statistical analyses within a real-world, employment-oriented context.","PeriodicalId":226423,"journal":{"name":"Statistics Education and Outreach IASE Satellite Conference","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128771173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Statistical analysis is required in many different projects throughout most work areas, which makes statistical consulting both exciting and challenging. Most students majoring in statistics do not have real-life experience of statistical consulting, and so it is very important that we as educators prepare our students for the statistical consulting needs of the workforce by offering training in this important area of statistics. We have recently set out to design a final- year undergraduate capstone statistical consulting unit (course) for our students majoring in statistics at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. This unit brings together the various technical aspects of students’ studies via a problem-based approach to learning about statistical consulting. In this paper, we document our planning of a statistical consulting unit: we discuss the challenges that we faced and indicate our solutions to these challenges during the planning stages of this capstone unit.
{"title":"Refereed paper reflections on designing a statistical consulting capstone unit","authors":"A. Bilgin, B. Jersky, P. Petocz, G. Wood","doi":"10.52041/srap.11201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52041/srap.11201","url":null,"abstract":"Statistical analysis is required in many different projects throughout most work areas, which makes statistical consulting both exciting and challenging. Most students majoring in statistics do not have real-life experience of statistical consulting, and so it is very important that we as educators prepare our students for the statistical consulting needs of the workforce by offering training in this important area of statistics. We have recently set out to design a final- year undergraduate capstone statistical consulting unit (course) for our students majoring in statistics at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. This unit brings together the various technical aspects of students’ studies via a problem-based approach to learning about statistical consulting. In this paper, we document our planning of a statistical consulting unit: we discuss the challenges that we faced and indicate our solutions to these challenges during the planning stages of this capstone unit.","PeriodicalId":226423,"journal":{"name":"Statistics Education and Outreach IASE Satellite Conference","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130847032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recently, Bellarmine University's Nursing department introduced two new programs: a bachelor's degree for registered nurses, and a professional doctorate in nursing practice. These programs enroll working nurses, who have substantially different needs than the traditional undergraduate population. This paper discusses how statistics course offerings have adapted to the demands of the other profession. More specifically, this paper considers several topics. Funding differs, since the employer pays most costs. Because participants have full time jobs, course meetings must become less frequent and longer, leading to substantial challenges. The topics and examples need to balance customary choices with the rapidly changing demands of the medical profession. Students' experience and computer availability shift computing requirements. Finally, the students have different demographics and personalities; this alters how classes are conducted, including the perplexing problem of perfectionism.
{"title":"Statistics and the working nurse","authors":"Adam Molnar","doi":"10.52041/srap.11401","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52041/srap.11401","url":null,"abstract":"Recently, Bellarmine University's Nursing department introduced two new programs: a bachelor's degree for registered nurses, and a professional doctorate in nursing practice. These programs enroll working nurses, who have substantially different needs than the traditional undergraduate population. This paper discusses how statistics course offerings have adapted to the demands of the other profession. More specifically, this paper considers several topics. Funding differs, since the employer pays most costs. Because participants have full time jobs, course meetings must become less frequent and longer, leading to substantial challenges. The topics and examples need to balance customary choices with the rapidly changing demands of the medical profession. Students' experience and computer availability shift computing requirements. Finally, the students have different demographics and personalities; this alters how classes are conducted, including the perplexing problem of perfectionism.","PeriodicalId":226423,"journal":{"name":"Statistics Education and Outreach IASE Satellite Conference","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130880896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The importance of students putting theory into practice is well recognised in statistics education and there is an increasing emphasis on developing skills such as questioning, communication and interpersonal skills. Appropriate work placements for mathematics and statistics undergraduates, integrated into their degree programme, have an important role to play in the development of both technical and personal skills. The objective of this study is to report on the evaluation of work placements by the most recent cohort of Mathematics and Statistics degree students in the University of Limerick from 2009/10 (n=20). A summary of the qualitative comments from students, ratings and overall assessment are given together with an evaluation from their employers of their performance and the benefits of the work placement programme. This feedback provides useful information for faculty on how well students are prepared for the world of work and what areas could be improved on.
{"title":"Referred paper Preparing students for the world of work: an evaluation of undergraduate work placements by students and employers","authors":"A. Hannigan","doi":"10.52041/srap.11203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52041/srap.11203","url":null,"abstract":"The importance of students putting theory into practice is well recognised in statistics education and there is an increasing emphasis on developing skills such as questioning, communication and interpersonal skills. Appropriate work placements for mathematics and statistics undergraduates, integrated into their degree programme, have an important role to play in the development of both technical and personal skills. The objective of this study is to report on the evaluation of work placements by the most recent cohort of Mathematics and Statistics degree students in the University of Limerick from 2009/10 (n=20). A summary of the qualitative comments from students, ratings and overall assessment are given together with an evaluation from their employers of their performance and the benefits of the work placement programme. This feedback provides useful information for faculty on how well students are prepared for the world of work and what areas could be improved on.","PeriodicalId":226423,"journal":{"name":"Statistics Education and Outreach IASE Satellite Conference","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126793210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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