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Month: August 2016

Resampling – Two Population Proportions

Resampling – Two Population Proportions

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On day 7 of instruction in my intro statistics course we spent the class working through a project comparing two population proportions using resampling. Click here to download a pdf copy of the project: Two Proportion Resampling Hands-On First Mike Sullivan recommends a hands-on simulation before turning to the computers, so I began by using poker chips for this scenario: A random sample of 15 students at my college had 9 female students in it (60% female), while a random…

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Learning Catalytics for Turning In Class Assignments

Learning Catalytics for Turning In Class Assignments

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Last night my intro statistics students worked through an Interactive Reading Assignment for measures of central tendency. In class today they will be working with four data sets and computing various measures of central tendency. To collect their work I will run through a Learning Catalytics module asking them for certain specific answers. My plan is for students to work individually while consulting with each other. If they have different results it will be a great opportunity to check each…

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Simulation Activity for a Population Proportion

Simulation Activity for a Population Proportion

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As part of my effort to bring inferential statistics to the beginning of the semester I had students work through their first inferential project. This occurred on the sixth day of instruction. Simulation for a Population Proportion On the previous day we were going over different ways to display qualitative data (frequency tables, pie charts, bar charts). We created a pie chart for a sample of 60 students and it showed that two-thirds of those students were female. I asked…

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Game On in Algebra

Game On in Algebra

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This semester I am continuing to use a grading policy in my elementary algebra class that incorporates elements of game design. I begin by telling my students about my discussions with a well-known game designer (who happens to be my son Dylan – check him out on Twitter) that school should be fun, and he challenged me to come up with a grading system that incorporated some of the elements of game design. It took a long time to come…

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Statistics Classroom Activity for Sampling Techniques

Statistics Classroom Activity for Sampling Techniques

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This week I devoted a class period to sampling techniques (random, systematic, cluster, stratified, and convenience). Students worked on an Interactive Reading Assignment before coming to class, and I began class with a quick discussion of the different types and their strengths/weaknesses. After the discussion I followed up with a class activity designed to help students understand how to select a sample using the systematic sampling technique as well as introduce them to some of the sampling features of StatCrunch….

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Learning Catalytics Questions

Learning Catalytics Questions

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There is a growing pool of questions available inside Learning Catalytics. Some have been generated by the publisher, others have been generated by the community of instructors using Learning Catalytics. For my first Flipped Classroom I wrote my own questions (sample vs population, descriptive vs inferential, levels of data, …) and it was very easy to do. However, for day 2, I used 7 questions created by the publisher/author and the community of instructors and those questions were outstanding. The…

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Day 2 of Flipped Classroom/Peer Instruction in Statistics

Day 2 of Flipped Classroom/Peer Instruction in Statistics

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OK, this was a good day. No. It was a great day! I cut down the review of the home content to 10 minutes, and was happy to see so many students participating in the student-driven review by offering their own explanations and definitions. Students know to come to class prepared and looking to participate. I can see where this could turn into a situation where only a handful of students participate though, and will seek to eliminate this pre-review…

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Statistics – My New Approach

Statistics – My New Approach

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This semester I started a new approach in my Statistics classes. I wanted to focus more on conceptual understanding make class time more engaging introduce inference much earlier in the course – including the use of bootstrapping, simulation, and resampling cover nonparametric options for certain hypothesis tests The first strategy I decided to employ was the flipped classroom, incorporating peer instruction. We are using the eText (Interactive Statistics) that I co-authored with Michael Sullivan, and the Interactive Reading Assignments are…

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Day One Activities – Focus on Math Anxiety

Day One Activities – Focus on Math Anxiety

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At the developmental level it should be no surprise that many of the students have feelings of anxiety related to math. Here are a few of the things I do on the first day of class to help students deal with these feelings. “Heads Down, Hands Up” After I take roll on the first day of class, I ask the students to put their heads on their desk with their eyes closed. I then ask students to raise their hands…

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My 3 R’s and Mindset

My 3 R’s and Mindset

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I took last semester off (bank leave), so Monday will be the first day teaching students in about eight months. What did I do during that time? I worked on the three R’s: resting, reading, and redesigning my classes. Resting I have taught a full load of classes every semester (and nearly every summer) since I started at College of Sequoias back in 1994. I did not think I needed a break because I did not feel the burnout that…

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