Improvement in statistical education in higher education

"Lookingforward to using the resources and the CensusAtSchool websites"

Summary

Day four was devoted to improving statistical education in higher education. David Green and Alun Owen described plans to create an electronic resource designed to help non-specialist students to understand and carry out statistical applications within parts of projects in other subjects such as psychology, science and business. John Marriott demonstrated how engaging students through topics they wanted to talk about in class could be used to define questions that they could then address using a problem solving approach. Gill Lancaster discussed the breadth and diversity of the many activities of the Post Graduate Statistics Centre at the University of Lancaster: their approach to teaching has been research-led with a strong practical emphasis on skills acquisition. Gillian Caffelle described the joint projects Minitab has started with the RSSCSE and how these, and other projects could be developed over the next four years. Matina Rassias demonstrated some novel ways to use quizzes for teaching and assessing statistics at the University of Glasgow. Adrian Bowman showed examples of the use of the R-based system, rpanel, which is designed to make the addition of interactive controls to graphical operations straightforward.

Note The statistical education in higher education day was organised under the auspices of the Higher Education Academy Maths, Stats and OR Network as part of the Network's aim to improve the student learning experience. In this case improving student engagement with statistics was through making teachers of statistics aware of the latest ways to support students that have difficulty with statistics, showing innovative ways of assessment and the use of leading edge interactive graphics to motivate students to be able to gain greater insight into the information in data. 

1 Statstutor – an electronic resource for improving statistical education for non-specialist students

David Green, sigma Centre for Excellence in Mathematics and Statistics Support
Loughborough and Coventry Universities

David mapped out plans to create an electronic resource suitable for supporting students who need to carry out projects in a range of subjects that use statistics. An open discussion followed about the kinds of resource and presentation style which would be most useful.

2 Students talking! Problem solved?

John Marriott, Royal Statistical Society Centre for Statistical Education

John considered how students could be engaged in introductory statistics modules by persuading them to talk about themselves as part of teaching through a problem solving approach. Examples of the use of this approach were presented and the talk concluded with a discussion of how 'real time' data collection could be accomplished.

3 Co-ordination and Innovation in Postgraduate Statistical Education

Gill Lancaster, Post Graduate Statistics Centre, Lancaster University

In 2005 Lancaster University was awarded a large HEFCE grant to fund a Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). The Lancaster Postgraduate Statistics Centre has the core aim of promoting excellence in teaching statistics to postgraduates across a range of disciplines. The diverse interests of the Statistics group provide a unique research-led approach to teaching with a strong practical emphasis on skills acquisition. This talk described the breadth and diversity of the work of the new centre. An open discussion followed on the implications of this model as a strategy for change.

4 Using Minitab to Improve Statistical Education

Discussion led by Gillian Caffelle (Minitab) and John Eales (University of Plymouth)

Minitab Ltd reported how proud they were to sponsor the RSSCSE and welcomed the opportunity to work with them to help promote statistical education. Minitab was originally developed by statistics professors to help teach statistics and is therefore an excellent tool for use by both teachers and students. Most universities have licences for Minitab Statistical software and during the past 12 months the company has worked on several projects with the RSSCSE to promote the use of Minitab and therefore enhance the teaching of statistics. Minitab reported that their long term goal was to equip students with the abilities they will need to successfully enter the jobs market and develop a worthwhile/professional career. Minitab said they looked forward to sharing with other professionals in the field the work already completed and gave some plans for the future.

5 Using Quiz Software to Teach and Assess Statistics

Matina Rassias, University of Glasgow

The talk focussed on the use of web-based multiple-choice statistics quizzes to support students’ learning processes in Statistics by providing them with immediate tailored feedback. It discussed ways that this computer-aided system could be used not only for learning but also for assessment purposes. In brief, the talk focussed on: a) describing the quizzes that have been developed by the Department of Statistics, Glasgow, b) exploring the general features of the system and c) explaining the system's flexibility to be used as a valuable assessment tool. The presentation of challenging quizzes along with clear assessment examples illustrated how the use of quiz software could provide a highly stimulating and challenging e -learning environment in Statistics education.

6 Making R graphics move: a workshop on the rpanel package

Adrian Bowman, University of Glasgow

Animated graphics can be very helpful in both teaching and research.  In teaching, this kind of presentation can aid understanding of statistical ideas at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels.  In research, additional insight into data and models can be provided.  The `rpanel' package for R, which is designed to make the addition of interactive controls to graphical operations straightforward, will be described.  Several illustrations of animated graphical tools for teaching, including elementary concepts and more advanced topics such as likelihood and spatial sampling, were given.  Examples of the use of animated graphics for research tools were also given, particularly for the implementation of smoothing techniques.  Participants had the opportunity to try these illustrations for themselves in a workshop setting.