The Analysis of Variance is often taught in introductory statistics
courses, but it is not clear that students really understand the method.
This is because the derivation of the test statistic and p-value
requires a relatively sophisticated mathematical background which may
not be well-remembered or understood. Thus, the essential concept behind
the Analysis of Variance can be obscured. On the other hand, it is possible
to provide students with a graphical technique that makes the essential
concept transparent. The technique discussed in this article can be understood
by students with little or no background in probability or statistics.
In fact, only the ability to add, subtract, compute averages, and interpret
histograms is required.
Key Words: Data visualization; Graphical ANOVA; Resampling.
The Price Is Right (TPIR) provides a wealth of material for studying statistics at various
levels of mathematical sophistication. The authors have used elements of this show to motivate students
from undergraduate probability and statistics courses to graduate level executive management courses.
The material consistently generates a high degree of student engagement and lively discussion. This paper
describes one classroom activity to help reinforce basic probability and statistics concepts and their
potential use in decision making.
Key Words: Discrete Probability Distribution; Binomial.
This article demonstrates how textbooks differ in their description of the term experimental unit.
Advanced Placement Statistics teachers and students are often limited in their statistical knowledge by the
information presented in their classroom textbook. Definitions and descriptions differ among textbooks as
well as among different editions of the same textbook. Furthermore, many schools use older editions of textbooks
rather than current editions that contain updated information and thus lose the benefit of improved discussions
and clarifications. Advanced Placement Statistics teachers should be aware of this issue and seek additional
training through workshops, additional textbooks, and webinars to increase and strengthen their knowledge and
understanding of key statistical concepts. Textbook authors should be aware of teachers' dependence on the
authors' presentation of topics and ensure that key topics like experimental unit are covered thoroughly.
This article considers three prior Advanced Placement Statistics exam questions to illustrate how different
Advanced Placement Statistics textbooks may have influenced students' answers based on the textbooks' authors'
treatment of experimental unit.
Key Words: Unit of analysis; Teacher preparation; College Board.
Over the past few decades there has been a large amount of research dedicated to the teaching of statistics.
The impact of this research has started to change course content and structure, in both introductory and advanced
courses for statisticians and those from other disciplines. In the light of these changes future directions in the
teaching and learning of statistics must take into account new innovative pedagogical instructions, educational
technologies and the abundance of Web resources that are now available. This article examines different aspects of
currently identified challenges in the teaching and learning of statistics and gives an overview of useful strategies
and innovations for developing research-based statistics courses in the context of recommendations for reforms,
outlining the place of information technology within this framework. The article presents a review of the literature
on the topic of statistics education and gives instructors a set of guidelines for generating new and effective
teaching material. The summarised recommendations incorporate many innovations employed in a variety of successful
statistics classes today. The review is complemented by a collection of statistics related online resources currently
available on the Web.
Key Words: Statistics education; Technological innovation; Teaching and learning statistics; Statistical literacy; Web resources.
Understanding counting rules is challenging for students; in particular, they struggle with determining
when and how to implement combinations, permutations, and the multiplication rule as tools for counting large
sets and computing probability. We present an activity - using ideas from the games of poker and pinochle -
designed to help students solidify and expand upon counting techniques while also promoting critical thinking
in the classroom. While this activity has been used in college level courses, we believe it would also be
applicable in a high school discrete mathematics class or in any probability course having substantial emphasis
on these topics. We present and discuss the activity including desired learning outcomes, rationale, opportunities
for teachable moments, and potential follow-up assignments.
through July 2012 that pertained to statistics education. In this column,
we highlight a few of these articles that represent a variety of
different journals that include statistics education in their focus.
We also provide information about the journal and a link to their
website so that abstracts of additional articles may be accessed and
In each issue of JSE, we like to highlight new activities and resources
from CAUSEweb ()