scholarly journals A DIAGNOSIS OF STATISTICAL SERVICE COURSES IN MEXICO

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
CECILIA CRUZ LÓPEZ ◽  
MARIO MIGUEL OJEDA RAMÍREZ

Statistical education is a very important area of research because it builds knowledge and promotes innovation in the courses of this discipline. Based on the advances in this area, changes in the content and approaches of the courses at all educational levels have been promoted in several countries. In this study, we examine programs of introductory statistics courses at the higher education level, seeking to characterize the state of statistical education for non-statisticians in Mexico. The extent to which the Statistical Learning Goals (MAEs) were addressed was explored. Included in the study were 410 statistics course programs from various Mexican institutions. A checklist was constructed to assess the extent to which MAEs were considered in the programs; that is, indicators of the degree of consideration of each of the goals were constructed. Exploratory and descriptive analyses were carried out to identify the extent the goals were met, followed by multiple correspondence analysis to identify associations with the program identification variables. The results showed that the MAEs were applied very little in Mexico, especially those that refer to the development of statistical thinking and culture; the exceptions were the goals of organizing data, building tables and graphs, as well as calculating descriptive statistics. For all this, it was concluded that there is much work to be done on this issue in Mexico. Abstract: Spanish La educación estadística es un área de investigación muy importante porque permite obtener conocimiento y promover la innovación en los cursos de esta disciplina. A partir de los avances en esta área, en varios países se han promovido cambios en los contenidos y enfoques de los cursos en todos los niveles educativos. En este estudio examinamos programas de cursos introductorios de estadística en el nivel superior, buscando caracterizar el estado que mantiene la educación estadística para no estadísticos en México. Se exploró la medida en la que se consideran las Metas de Aprendizaje de la Estadística (MAE) propuestas por Gal y Garfield (1997). Se recopilaron 410 programas de cursos de estadística de diversas instituciones mexicanas. Se construyó una lista de cotejo para evaluar qué tanto se consideran las MAE en el programa; es decir, se construyeron indicadores del grado de consideración de cada una de las metas. Se realizaron análisis exploratorios y descriptivos para identificar qué tanto se atiende cada una de las metas, seguidos de análisis de correspondencia múltiple para identificar asociaciones con las variables de identificación de los programas. Los resultados muestran que las MAE se han aplicado muy poco en México, sobre todo las que se refieren al desarrollo del pensamiento y la cultura estadística; la excepción es la meta que se refiere organizar los datos, construcción de tablas y gráficas, así como calcular estadísticas descriptivas. Por todo esto, se concluye que hay mucho trabajo por hacer en este tema en México.

Author(s):  
Andrew Gelman ◽  
Deborah Nolan

An important theme in an introductory statistics course is the connection between statistics and the outside world. Described in this chapter are assignments that can be useful in getting students to learn how to gather and process information presented in the news and scientific reports. These assignments seem to work well only when students have direction about how to do this kind of research. Three versions of the assignment are provided. In all three, students read a news story and the original report on which the article was based, and they complete a worksheet with guidelines for summarizing the reported study. In some versions students are supplied the news story and report and in another each student finds a news article and tracks down the original report on her own. Included here are our guidelines, example instructional packets, and the process we use to organize each type of assignment.


Author(s):  
Andrew Gelman ◽  
Deborah Nolan

Descriptive statistics is the typical starting point for a statistics course, and it can be tricky to teach because the material is more difficult than it first appears. The activities in this chapter focus more on the topics of data displays and transformations, rather than the mean, median, and standard deviation, which are covered easily in a textbook and on homework assignments. Specific topics include: distributions and handedness scores; extrapolation of time series and world record times for the mile run; linear combinations and economic indexes; scatter plots and exam scores; and logarithmic transformations and metabolic rates.


Author(s):  
Nan Li ◽  
Dan Wu

Under the dual background of underemployment and health inequality, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of education level on underemployed workers’ health based on CLDS2016 data. The results show that underemployment is significantly related to the decline of self-rated health, increased depression tendency, and morbidity in a certain period. The results indicate that underemployment can significantly reduce the health level of workers in the low education level group and the high education level group. However, it has no significant impact on workers’ health in the middle education level group; even if we change the measurement method of indicators and consider endogeneity, the research conclusion is still robust. Moreover, this kind of health inequality mainly comes from the difference in economic effect and leisure effect of underemployment to workers with different educational levels. This paper provides empirical support for increasing the labor protection mechanism of underemployed people and reducing the health inequality caused by educational level differences.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBYN REABURN

This study aimed to gain knowledge of students’ beliefs and difficulties in understanding p-values, and to use this knowledge to develop improved teaching programs. This study took place over four consecutive teaching semesters of a one-semester tertiary statistics unit. The study was cyclical, in that the results of each semester were used to inform the instructional design for the following semester. Over the semesters, the following instructional techniques were introduced: computer simulation, the introduction of hypothetical probabilistic reasoning using a familiar context, and the use of alternative representations. The students were also encouraged to write about their work. As the interventions progressed, a higher proportion of students successfully defined and used p-values in Null Hypothesis Testing procedures. First published May 2014 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Saeed Badghish

<p>This study examines the priority of values affecting the behaviour of local consumers in the Saudi Arabian hospitality industry. The sample consists of Saudi nationals who have stayed in a hotel in Saudi Arabia. A review of the literature provides studies of values and demographic factors that could lead to differences in behaviour between gender (male vs female) and education (educated vs less-educated). There is currently little understanding of whether, or how, Saudis from different socio-cultural environments, represented in this study with different demographic profiles, differ in their values. This study considers whether there are any such differences linked to these demographic differences. The research uses a quantitative online survey based on established constructs of Kahle’s List of Values. Data were analysed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, independent samples <em>t</em>-tests, and regression analysis. This quantitative study finds that there are significant differences in the value of excitement, warm relationships with others, and fun and enjoyment were noted according to education level; also the value of self-fulfillment according to gender.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Wang ◽  
Lina Li ◽  
Jing Wu ◽  
Hao Gao

Abstract Background In the face of a sudden outbreak of COVID-19, it is essential to promote health communication, especially to reduce communication inequality. The paper targeted China to investigate whether social structural factors (education level and urban-rural differences) lead to the knowledge gap of COVID-19. Also, this paper examined whether media use, interpersonal communication, public communication, and perceived salience of information can influence the knowledge gap of COVID-19. Furthermore, this paper explored the strategies to promote communication equality. Methods An online survey on COVID-19 knowledge and its influencing factors was conducted in February 2020, with a valid sample of 981 participants. The dependent variable was the total score of knowledge related to COVID-19. In addition to demographic variables such as education level and residence, the main explanatory variables include four independent variables: the use of different media (print media, radio, television, Internet), interpersonal communication, public communication, and perceived salience of information. This paper utilized descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis for data processing. Results Descriptive statistics indicated that the Internet was the most frequent source of information for participants to obtain COVID-19 knowledge (M = 6.28, SD = 1.022). Bi-variate analysis and regression analysis presented that education level, Internet media use, and perceived salience of information predicted the difference in knowledge level. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that Internet media use significantly predicted differences in the level of knowledge related to COVID-19 among groups with different education levels. Conclusions This study found a COVID-19 knowledge gap among the Chinese public, especially the digital knowledge gap. Education level, perceived salience of information, and internet media use can significantly predict the difference in COVID-19 knowledge level. In contrast, the use of traditional media such as newspaper, radio, and television, public communication, and interpersonal communication did not improve knowledge level. Internet media use and education level have an interactive effect on the formation of a COVID-19 knowledge gap. That is, online media use will expand the COVID-19 knowledge gap between groups with different education levels.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-510
Author(s):  
WARREN PAUL

We used the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics to (1) evaluate using pre-semester data the Students’ Attitudes Toward Statistics Model (SATS-M), and (2) test the effect on attitudes of an introductory statistics course redesigned according to the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) by examining the change in attitudes over the semester and, using supplementary data from an annual Student Feedback Survey, testing for a change in overall satisfaction following implementation of the redesigned course. We took an exploratory rather than confirmatory approach in both parts of this study using Bayesian networks and structural equation modelling. These results were triangulated with analysis of focus group discussions and the annual Student Feedback Survey. First published November 2017 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives


Author(s):  
Charles M. Harris ◽  
James G. Mazoué ◽  
Hasan Hamdan ◽  
Arlene R. Casiple

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