A Guide to Teaching Statistics

Hulsizer, Michael R.; Woolf, Linda M.

doi:10.1002/9781444305234

Cited by 19 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…They find mixed results -with students becoming more confident but not necessarily more capable, with the addition of these resources (Van Gundy, et al 2006). The importance of statistics software packages in facilitating student learning cannot be overstated in the extant literature (Smith 2003;Hulsizer and Woolf 2009;Šebjan and Tominc 2015). Similarly, employing an appropriate and well-integrated textbook, whether print or electronic, is integral to improving student outcomes (Forte 1995;Symanzik 2006).…”

Section: Pedagogical Tools Employed At Undergraduate Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scholars have conducted extensive research on the best way to accomplish the task, investigating the ways in which social science students learn statistics and the obstacles that make their learning more challenging (Finkelstein 1994;Forte 1995;Bridges et al 1998;Paxton 2006;Yamarik 2007;Hulsizer and Woolf 2009;Millis 2012). In addition to this research, the American Sociological Association has developed guidelines on goals and best practices for its teaching (Howery and Rodriguez 2006) and has issued a series of recommendations regarding where statistics training should fall in the departmental curriculum (McKinney et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Statistics Education for Undergraduate Sociology Majors: Survey Findings across Institutions

Deckard¹,

M²

2017

Numeracy

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The need to close the quantitative literacy gap for sociology majors is a perennial topic in discussions of undergraduate sociological training. More and better statistical education with a greater focus on active research and engaged analysis is recommended by the major disciplinary association, as well as virtually all pedagogical agencies. This project explores these differences in the implementation of these recommendations, employing a survey (n=90) to report on the structure of quantitative training for undergraduates majoring in sociology. It finds that the type and extent of this education available to, and required for, sociology majors varies widely across not only institutions but by type of institutional context. The pedagogical resources and tools employed also vary widely. It explores the curricular elements that departments view as the strengths and weaknesses of their quantitative programs in terms of perceived student outcomes and competencies.

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Section: Pedagogical Tools Employed At Undergraduate Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Statistics Education for Undergraduate Sociology Majors: Survey Findings across Institutions

Deckard¹,

M²

2017

Numeracy

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“…Anthony Onwuegbuzie and Vicki Wilson (2003, p. 196) describe statistics anxiety as the ‘anxiety that occurs when a student encounters statistics in any form or at any level’. This anxiety does not necessarily stem from bad training or insufficient skills (Pan and Tang, 2004), but from students’ misperceptions both about statistics and about their (lack of) mathematical skills, from warnings from their peers or from the ‘horror stories’ they have heard (Bridges et al, 1998; Hulsizer and Woolf, 2009; Onwuegbuzie and Wilson, 2003; Pan and Tang, 2004).…”

Section: On the Causes And Effects Of Statistics Anxietymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numeric skills are important to avoid deception and to function in society. As a consequence, these skills are also important for political science students to grasp and understand social reality (Hulsizer and Woolf, 2009). Students, however, tend to avoid quantitative methods and even fear them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Too Afraid to Learn: Attitudes towards Statistics as a Barrier to Learning Statistics and to Acquiring Quantitative Skills

2013

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Quantitative skills are important for studying and understanding social reality. Political science students, however, experience difficulties in acquiring and retaining such skills. Fear of statistics has often been listed among the major causes for this problem. This study aims at understanding the underlying factors for this anxiety and proposes a potential remedy. More specifically, we advocate the integration of quantitative material into non‐methodological courses. After assessing the influence of dispositional, course‐related and person‐related factors on the attitudes towards statistics among political science students, we provide insights into the relation between these attitudes on the one hand and the learning and retention of statistics skills on the other. Our results indicate that a curriculum‐wide approach to normalise the use of quantitative methods can not only foster interest in statistics but also foster retention of the acquired skills.

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“…They referenced that techniques such as cartoons may foster learning, reduce anxiety, and increase the human element in the classroom. Although there are excellent books on the topic of teaching statistics [14][15][16] it seems logical that there are no perfect ways to teach statistics. Teaching statistics should be similar to teaching any course.…”

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confidence: 99%

Teaching Statistics: Am I the Lone Dinosaur?

Silver¹

2016

Psychol Cogn Sci Open J

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Teaching statistics in a social science department can be a daunting task for the new or part-time faculty member. Students have a wide range of abilities, aptitudes, interests, and motivation levels. Of course, as we all know, many social science students fear statistics. Approximately 80% of the graduate students experience statistics anxiety.1 Although this anxiety might hinder performance, many survive the course. What I find interesting is that some of these students may go on to teach undergraduate statistics courses as part of their graduate teaching duties. Therefore, teaching statistics certainly can alleviate anxiety as one is forced to know the material well and convey it in a cogent way to undergraduates.If graduate students fear statistics courses, then it is highly probable that the undergraduates fear statistics as well, if not more so. These anxieties may include fear of asking questions, having difficulty in providing conclusions from the data, and perhaps being intimidated by the faculty member given the topic and knowledge base.2 The mathematics in this course is fairly simple, yet the concepts may be somewhat abstract. Hence, how does one make an abstract concept easy to digest? Perhaps one way is to provide a real-life example.3 For example, in my discussion of the Central Limit Theorem, I will explain how the sampling distribution of the mean approaches normality when sample size increases. From a more humorous real-life perspective, I will explain how a supermodel who stands six feet tall and weighs 110 pounds can eat candy bars and milk shakes (which would be akin to sample size) to become more "normal". Not only is this a real-life example that many of us can relate to, but also there is humor. This can be one way to make statistics come alive.There are almost as many ways to teach statistics as there are statistics professors. For example, in our psychology department, there are three tenured faculty members who teach the majority of the undergraduate sections. One faculty member uses the eyeball estimation method, which is certainly novel. A second professor uses SPSS in her course, which is quite laudable. My approach has been to have students calculate problems by hand. These problems include z-scores, confidence intervals, ANOVA, subsequent tests to ANOVA including range tests, and correlation. However, my philosophy starts on the first day of class in which I explain that statistics is simply telling a story with numbers. Moreover, this story becomes more complete based on advanced testing, if appropriate. These stories transcend disciplines. Although the majority of students are in psychology, there are some in hotel administration, biology, nursing, anthropology, and kinesiology, just to name a few. In order to make statistics relevant for these students, I will provide salient problems that could be of great interest ranging from testing different types of drugs for reduction of Ebola or Zika Virus symptomatology to discussing differences among hotels on the Strip with regard to...

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A Guide to Teaching Statistics

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

Statistics Education for Undergraduate Sociology Majors: Survey Findings across Institutions

Statistics Education for Undergraduate Sociology Majors: Survey Findings across Institutions

Too Afraid to Learn: Attitudes towards Statistics as a Barrier to Learning Statistics and to Acquiring Quantitative Skills

Teaching Statistics: Am I the Lone Dinosaur?

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