scholarly journals ASSESSING LEARNING OUTCOMES: AN ANALYSIS OF THE GOALS-2 INSTRUMENT

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-116
Author(s):  
ANELISE GUIMARAES SABBAG ◽  
ANDREW ZIEFFLER
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Measurement Models ◽  
Test Information ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Graded Response ◽  
Two Parameter

The test instrument GOALS-2 was designed primarily to evaluate the effectiveness of the CATALST curriculum. The purpose of this study was to perform a psychometric analysis of this instrument. Undergraduate students from six universities in the United States (n=289) were administered the instrument. Three measurement models were fit and compared: the two-parameter logistic model, the mixed model (comprised of both the two-parameter logistic and the graded-response model), and the bi-factor model. The mixed model was found to most appropriately model students’ responses. The results suggested the revision of some items and the addition of more discriminating items to improve total test information. First published November 2015 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

scholarly journals STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD STATISTICS ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES: A MIXED-METHODS APPROACH

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-56
Author(s):  
JAMES D. GRIFFITH ◽  
LEA T. ADAMS ◽  
LUCY L. GU ◽  
CHRISTIAN L. HART ◽  
PENNEY NICHOLS-WHITEHEAD
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Business Majors ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Attitudes Toward Statistics ◽  
Students Attitudes

Students’ attitudes toward statistics were investigated using a mixed-methods approach including a discovery-oriented qualitative methodology among 684 undergraduate students across business, criminal justice, and psychology majors where at least one course in statistics was required. Students were asked about their attitudes toward statistics and the reasons for their attitudes. Five categories resulted for those with positive and negative attitudes and were separated on the basis of discipline. Approximately 63% of students indicated a positive attitude toward statistics. Business majors were most positive and were more likely to believe statistics would be used in their future career. Multiple methodological approaches have now provided data on the various domains of attitudes toward statistics and those implications are discussed. First published November 2012 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives

PAINT-BY-NUMBER OR PICASSO? A GROUNDED THEORY PHENOMENOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF STUDENTS’ CONCEPTIONS OF STATISTICS

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-102
Author(s):  
NICOLA JUSTICE ◽  
SAMANTHA MORRIS ◽  
VERONIQUE HENRY ◽  
ELIZABETH BRONDOS FRY
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Introductory Statistics ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Survey Responses

Statistics students’ conceptions of the work of statisticians and the discipline of statistics may play an important role in the topics to which they attend and their interest in pursuing further study. To learn about students’ conceptions, we collected open-ended survey responses from 44 undergraduate students who had completed introductory statistics courses. We used a grounded theory phenomenographical qualitative approach to identify several themes in students’ conceptions. In addition to the test-and-procedure conception, we offer several other themes, such as acknowledgement of variation and the role of ethical integrity. We use a metaphor of painting styles to compare to experts’ conceptions of statistics. By identifying “seeds” of what may be developed into expert conceptions, these preliminary results set possible foundations to explore trajectories that may help shape students’ conceptions of statistics. First published June 2020 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF STATISTICS: AN EXPLORATION OF ATTITUDES, CONCEPTUALIZATIONS, AND CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OF STATISTICS

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-25
Author(s):  
MARJORIE E. BOND ◽  
SUSAN N. PERKINS ◽  
CAROLINE RAMIREZ
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Statistics Education Research ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Attitudes Toward Statistics ◽  
Students Attitudes

Although statistics education research has focused on students’ learning and conceptual understanding of statistics, researchers have only recently begun investigating students’ perceptions of statistics. The term perception describes the overlap between cognitive and non-cognitive factors. In this mixed-methods study, undergraduate students provided their perceptions of statistics and completed the Survey of Students’ Attitudes Toward Statistics-36 (SATS-36). The qualitative data suggest students had basic knowledge of what the word statistics meant, but with varying depths of understanding and conceptualization of statistics. Quantitative analysis also examined the relationship between students’ perceptions of statistics and attitudes toward statistics. We found no significant difference in mean pre- or post-SATS scores across conceptualization and content knowledge categories. The implications of these findings for education and research are discussed. First published November 2012 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives

INVESTIGATING STUDENTS’ REASONING ABOUT SAMPLING DISTRIBUTIONS THROUGH A RESOURCE PERSPECTIVE

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-45
Author(s):  
KELLY FINDLEY ◽  
ALEXANDER LYFORD
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Introductory Statistics ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Sampling Distributions ◽  
Statistics Course ◽  
Resource Perspective ◽  
Problem Setting

Researchers have documented many misconceptions students hold about sampling variability. This study takes a different approach—instead of identifying shortcomings, we consider the productive reasoning pieces students construct as they reason about sampling distributions. We interviewed eight undergraduate students newly enrolled in an introductory statistics course. Taking a grounded theory style approach, we identified 10 resources that students used when reasoning about the sampling distribution for the average within two contexts: penny years and dice rolls. Students had varied success in their responses as they made choices about how to represent their resources in their constructions. Successful constructions exemplified careful blending of resources, while less  successful constructions reflected disjoint perceptions and tensions between seemingly conflicting resources. Our findings stress the importance of framing students as capable reasoning agents by describing student resources that were used while solving tasks related to sampling distributions. We also discuss the influence of context and problem setting in students’ reasoning and resource elicitation. First published May 2019 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

TAKING PROJECT-BASED STATISTICS ABROAD: LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES OF A PROJECT-BASED STATISTICS COURSE IN WEST AFRICA

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
REBECCA AWUAH ◽  
KRISTEL M. GALLAGHER ◽  
LISA C. DIERKER
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Introductory Statistics ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Statistics Course ◽  
The Impact

To evaluate the impact of a multidisciplinary, project-based course in introductory statistics, this exploratory study examined learning experiences, feelings of confidence, and interest in future experiences with data for undergraduate students in Ghana, West Africa. Students completed a one-semester, introductory statistics course utilizing the Passion-driven Statistics curriculum. Results showed more than half of the students put more effort into the course and found the material more challenging compared to other courses, while nearly three-quarters reported interest in one or more follow-up courses. Importantly, students also reported increased confidence in a variety of applied statistical skills. These findings demonstrate the positive impact of a multidisciplinary, project-based curriculum on undergraduate students in Ghana, West Africa and demonstrate the potential for its global portability. First published December 2020 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives

scholarly journals ROLES OF TECHNOLOGY IN STUDENT LEARNING OF UNIVERSITY LEVEL BIOSTATISTICS

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-76
Author(s):  
WEILI XU ◽  
YUCHEN ZHANG ◽  
CHENG SU ◽  
ZHUANG CUI ◽  
XIUYING QI
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Threshold Concepts ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Technology In Teaching ◽  
University Level ◽  
Troublesome Knowledge ◽  
Improve Student Learning

This study explored threshold concepts and areas of troublesome knowledge among students enrolled in a basic biostatistics course at the university level. The main area of troublesome knowledge among students was targeted by using technology to improve student learning. A total of 102 undergraduate students who responded to structured questionnaires were included in this study. The results suggest that threshold concepts regarding “statistics” and “random sample” need to be better understood. “Confidence interval” and “hypothesis testing” were the two most frequent troublesome areas among the participants.The pedagogical role of technology in teaching and learning statistics, and the mechanisms whereby technology may improve student learning were discussed. First published May 2014 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

scholarly journals DO INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS COURSES IN THE UNITED STATES IMPROVE STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES?

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-94
Author(s):  
CANDACE SCHAU ◽  
ESMA EMMİOĞLU
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Introductory Statistics ◽  
Cognitive Competence ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Statistics Instruction ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Current Impact

We examined the attitudes of about 2200 students enrolled in 101 sections of post-secondary introductory statistics service courses located across the United States. Using the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics-36, we assessed students’ attitudes when they entered and left their courses, as well as changes in attitudes across their courses. Results showed that, on average, students entered these courses with neutral (Affect, Difficulty), positive (Cognitive Competence, Value, Interest), and very positive (Effort) attitudes. Their attitudes either stayed about the same (Affect, Cognitive Competence, Difficulty) or decreased (Value, Interest, Effort). These results help us understand the current impact of introductory statistics instruction in U.S. institutions. First published November 2012 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives

scholarly journals GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS’ STATISTICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OF SAMPLING

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-74
Author(s):  
JENNIFER NOLL
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Teaching Assistants ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Graduate Teaching Assistants ◽  
Graduate Teaching ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Undergraduate Statistics

Research investigating graduate teaching assistants’ (TAs’) knowledge of fundamental statistics concepts is sparse at best; yet at many universities, TAs play a substantial role in the teaching of undergraduate statistics courses. This paper provides a framework for characterizing TAs’ content knowledge in a sampling context and endeavors to raise new questions about TAs’ content knowledge and its potential impact on the teaching of undergraduate statistics. The participants in this study were sixty-eight TAs from 18 universities across the United States. These TAs demonstrated considerable knowledge of theoretical probability distributions. However, they experienced tensions when attempting to quantify expected statistical variability in an empirical sampling situation and had difficulty explaining conceptual ideas of variability. First published November 2011 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives

scholarly journals STATISTICS GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS’ BELIEFS, PRACTICES AND PREPARATION FOR TEACHING INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 294-319
Author(s):  
NICOLA JUSTICE ◽  
ANDREW ZIEFFLER ◽  
JOAN GARFIELD
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Teaching Assistants ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Graduate Teaching Assistants ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Introductory Statistics ◽  
Graduate Teaching ◽  
Research Journal

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are responsible for the instruction of many statistics courses offered at the university level, yet little is known about these students’ preparation for teaching, their beliefs about how introductory statistics should be taught, or the pedagogical practices of the courses they teach. An online survey to examine these characteristics was developed and administered as part of an NSF-funded project. The results, based on responses from 213 GTAs representing 38 Ph.D.–granting statistics departments in the United States, suggest that many GTAs have not experienced the types of professional development related to teaching supported in the literature. Evidence was also found to suggest that, in general, GTAs teach in ways that are not aligned with their own beliefs. Furthermore, their teaching practices are not aligned with professionally-endorsed recommendations for teaching and learning statistics. First published May 2017 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

scholarly journals INTERPRETATION OF STATISTICAL DATA: THE IMPORTANCE OF AFFECTIVE EXPRESSIONS

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-180
Author(s):  
TAMIRES QUEIROZ ◽  
CARLOS MONTEIRO ◽  
LILIANE CARVALHO ◽  
KAREN FRANÇOIS
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Affective Expression ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Professional Careers ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Research On Teaching ◽  
Affective Expressions

In recent years, research on teaching and learning of statistics emphasized that the interpretation of data is a complex process that involves cognitive and technical aspects. However, it is a human activity that involves also contextual and affective aspects. This view is in line with research on affectivity and cognition. While the affective aspects are recognized as important for the interpretation of data, they were not sufficiently discussed in the literature. This paper examines topics from an empirical study that investigates the influence of affective expression during the interpretation of statistical data by final-year undergraduate students of statistics and pedagogy. These two university courses have different curricular components, which are related to specific goals in the future professional careers of the students. The results suggest that despite differing academic backgrounds in both groups, the participants’ affective expressions were the most frequent type of category used during the interpretation of research assignments. First published May 2017 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

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