Lawrence M. Lesser

Functional Fun in Statistics Teaching: Resources, Research and Recommendations

This paper presents an overview of modalities that can be used to make learning statistics fun. Representative examples or points of departure in the literature are provided for no less than 20 modalities. Empirical evidence of effectiveness specific to statistics education is starting to emerge for some of these modalities — namely, humor, song, and cartoons. To reinforce their effectiveness as an intentional teaching tool, the authors offer practical implementation tips.

Critical Values and Transforming Data: Teaching Statistics with Social Justice

Despite the dearth of literature specifically on teaching statistics using social justice, there is precedent in the more general realm of teaching using social justice, or even in teaching mathematics using social justice. This article offers an overview of content examples, resources, and references that can be used in the specific area of statistics education. Philosophical and pedagogical references are given, definitional issues are discussed, potential implementation challenges are addressed, and a substantial bibliography of print and electronic resources is provided.

Setting the Tone: A Discursive Case Study of Problem-Based Inquiry Learning to Start a Graduate Statistics Course for In-Service Teachers

The first day of a course has great potential to set the tone for the entire course, planting the seeds for habits of mind and questioning and setting in motion expectations for classroom discourse. Rather than let the first meeting contain little besides going over the syllabus, the instructor (Lesser) decided to use two sustained open-ended scenarios to put in place from the start the problem-based inquiry learning approach he wanted to use throughout most of the course. After reviewing the literatures involved, this paper shares a description of the lessons design and instructional cycle and a discourse analysis of that lessons implementation. Strategies identified by the case study analysis include varying participation structures, well-crafted problems, and the instructors role as facilitator and co-learner.

Ethical Statistics and Statistical Ethics: Making an Interdisciplinary Module.

This article describes an innovative curriculum module the first author created on the two-way exchange between statistics and applied ethics. The module, having no particular mathematical prerequisites beyond high school algebra, is part of an undergraduate interdisciplinary ethics course which begins with a 3-week introduction to basic applied ethics taught by a philosophy professor (the second author), and continues with 3-week modules from professors in various other disciplines. The first authors modules emphasis on conceptual and critical thinking makes it easily adaptable to service-level courses as well as readily expandable for more mathematically sophisticated audiences. Through in-class explorations and discussions, the module made connections to contemporary topics such as the death penalty, equal pay for equal work, and profiling. This article shares examples, resources, strategies and lessons learned for instructors wishing to develop their own modules of various lengths.

Mathematical lyrics: noteworthy endeavours in education

Mathematical lyrics are song lyrics connected to, or inspired by, mathematics or statistics. This paper explores various types of mathematical lyrics and their roles in mathematics education. In particular, the paper contains many examples of my own lyrics as well as an extensive bibliography of lyrics composed by others. It also provides resources and strategies for creating such lyrics and for using them in an educational setting.

Validation of Scores From a New Measure of Preservice Teachers’ Self-efficacy to Teach Statistics in the Middle Grades

The influential Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) expect students to start statistics learning during middle grades. Thus teacher education and professional development programs are advised to help preservice and in-service teachers increase their knowledge and confidence to teach statistics. Although existing self-efficacy instruments used in statistics education focus on students, the Self-Efficacy to Teach Statistics (SETS) instrument measures a teacher’s efficacy to teach key CCSSM statistical topics. Using the results from a sample of n = 309 participants enrolled in a mathematics education or introductory statistics course, SETS scores were validated for use with middle grades preservice teachers to differentiate levels of self-efficacy to teach statistics. Confirmatory factor analysis using the Multidimensional Random Coefficient Multinomial Logit Model supports the use of two dimensions, which exhibit adequate reliabilities and correspond to the first two levels of the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education adopted by the American Statistical Association. Item and rating scale analyses indicate that the items and the six-category scale perform as intended. These indicators suggest that the SETS instrument may be appropriate for measuring preservice teacher levels of self-efficacy to teach statistics.

Finding a Happy Median: Another Balance Representation for Measures of Center

This paper explores the use of a lesser-known dynamic model for the median, a foundational topic that starts in the middle school curriculum and is associated with student misconceptions and knowledge gaps. This model appears to offer a rich vehicle to explore the median interactively in greater conceptual depth that includes some of its more subtle associated ideas. An exploratory study to assess performance of this model in a class for pre-service middle school teachers yielded evidence that students who completed the dataset sequence associated with the model gained further insight about the median, especially concerning how the mean and median are affected differently by outliers. Analyses of open ended questions as well as empirical results of multiple-choice questions are used to assess the overall learning outcomes gained by students. A one-minute video is offered to illustrate key points of the model.

On the use of mnemonics for teaching statistics

This paper is a comprehensive attempt to compile and classify mnemonics (memory aids) that can be used in statistics education.

Assessing Effectiveness of Mnemonics for Tertiary Students in a Hybrid Introductory Statistics Course

ABSTRACT Mnemonics (memory aids) are often viewed as useful in helping students recall information, and thereby possibly reducing stress and freeing up more cognitive resources for higher-order thinking. However, there has been little research on statistics mnemonics, especially for large classes. This article reports on the results of a study conducted during two consecutive fall semesters at a large U.S. university. In 2014, a large sample (n = 1487) of college students were asked about the usefulness of a set of 19 published statistics mnemonics presented in class, and in 2015, the students (n = 1468) were presented 12 mnemonics related to inference and then asked whether or not they used mnemonics on that exam. This article discusses how students assess the usefulness of mnemonics and evaluates the relationship between using mnemonics and reducing anxiety. Additionally, the relationship between mnemonic usage and learning outcomes achievement will be discussed, along with this studys limitations and implications for teaching.

Assessing Fun Items' Effectiveness in Increasing Learning of College Introductory Statistics Students: Results of a Randomized Experiment

ABSTRACT There has been a recent emergence of scholarship on the use of fun in the college statistics classroom, with at least 20 modalities identified. While there have been randomized experiments that suggest that fun can enhance student achievement or attitudes in statistics, these studies have generally been limited to one particular fun modality or have not been limited to the discipline of statistics. To address the efficacy of fun items in teaching statistics, a student-randomized experiment was designed to assess how specific items of fun may cause changes in statistical anxiety and learning statistics content. This experiment was conducted at two institutions of higher education with different and diverse student populations. Findings include a significant increase in correct responses to questions among students who were assigned online content with a song insert compared with those assigned content alone.