Stat 130 Introduction to Statistical Reasoning Spring 2006
Instructor: Allan
Rossman
Class Meetings: MTWR 1:10-2:00 in room 02-206
Office: Faculty Office Building East 25-102; 756-2861
Email: arossman@calpoly.edu
Office Hours: Mondays-Thursdays
Text: Statistics: Concepts and Controversies (6th ed.), by
David S. Moore and William I. Notz
Course Webpage: http://statweb.calpoly.edu/arossman/stat130/
Overview: Statistics can be defined as the science of reasoning from data. Data and statistical thinking abound in everyday life and in almost all academic disciplines, so the ability to reason with data is essential to educated citizenship. This course will focus on understanding statistical concepts, interpreting statistical data, analyzing statistical arguments, and appreciating the relevance of statistics to contemporary society.
The course is not extremely technical, but do not let this fool you into thinking that the course is not serious. The statistical ideas to be studied are important and substantive, and as the title suggests the course will emphasize reasoning. You will be expected to understand concepts, interpret results, explain reasoning, and communicate findings much more than to perform computational manipulations and rote memorizations.
We will follow the textbook very closely. The first part of the course concerns methods of collecting data, and the second part involves methods and strategies for analyzing data. The last part of the course deals with issues of probability and statistical inference, which are the mathematical study of uncertainty and the process through which we generalize conclusions beyond the data in hand.
Course Materials: You should purchase the textbook and a three-ring binder for storing and organizing handouts and notes. You must also have a scientific calculator and access to the internet access outside of class. Please bring your book, binder, and calculator to every class session. Links to handouts will be available here.
Class Policies: I strongly encourage you to prepare for and to participate in every class session. Not only will this help you to learn the material and perform well in the course, but it will also produce a much more enjoyable learning environment for all of us. Preparing for class will typically involve reading the chapter of the book to be discussed that day. I also strongly encourage you to print out the handout for the day from the course web page, ideally prior to the class meeting.
Participating in class will typically entail contributing to discussions and working on hands-on activities that I design to help you investigate and learn the material. Some of these activities will ask you to work cooperatively with a partner or group. The activities will serve to reinforce the material presented in the book, not to introduce it, so it is important for you to do the reading ahead of time. In order to encourage and reward you for your class preparation and participation, I will collect and grade some aspect of your work in most class periods.
Due to the interactive nature of the classroom learning environment, most students find that attending class regularly is essential to learning the material. Naturally, you are responsible for material covered and announcements made during classes that you miss.
I ask you to please observe common courtesies in class, specifically to:
Grading Policies: In order to give you a variety of opportunities to demonstrate your learning, your course grade will be determined by the following components, with relative weight as indicated:
You should recognize that the abilities to understand concepts, interpret results, explain reasoning, and communicate findings are more important than computational manipulations or rote memorization in all of these areas.
In-Class Activities and Quizzes: As I mentioned earlier, I will encourage and reward you for class preparation and participation by collecting and grading some aspect of your work in most class periods. This may be a quiz based on your reading for that class, or based on an in-class activity, or based on what I present during the class, or based on a homework question. Specific rules for each (individual or partner, open- or closed-book, beginning or end of class) will be announced as we go. You will receive half credit simply for being present in class and making an earnest attempt. You may drop your lowest three scores before calculating your overall score. These quizzes will be posted here so that you can check your work afterward.
Homework Assignments: I will assign homework questions from the text, but I will not collect and grade them. I will assign odd-numbered questions so that you may check your answers in the back of the book. You are also very welcome to ask about these questions during class and in office hours. The purpose of these questions is to help you learn the material and prepare for exams. The assigned questions appear here.
Mini-Project Assignments: I
will ask you to complete several (probably 5-6) mini-projects during the
course. These will typically involve
your finding and writing a report about applications of statistics that you
find in popiular media or on the web.
These assignments will ask you to demonstrate your abilities to
recognize the relevance of statistics to contemporary society, critique
media presentations of statistical studies, and perform analyses of data. Detailed instructions and expectations appear
here.
Exams: You may use your book, handouts, and notes on the exams. Dates for the exams appear in the schedule below; you may make up an exam only with a written medical excuse. The final exam will concentrate on more recent material but will also have a cumulative component. You should also be aware that much of the course is cumulative in the sense that material presented later in the course builds on earlier material. We will devote the class period before each exam to reviewing and answering your questions.
Advice: With apologies to David Letterman, I offer the following “Top Ten” suggestions to improve your learning in this course:
A common theme emerges from this list: You are responsible for your own learning. As your instructor, I view my role as providing you with contexts and opportunities which facilitate the learning process. Please call on me to help you with this learning in whatever ways I can.
Let me add an eleventh suggestion, perhaps the most important one:
Schedule: The following is a tentative schedule,
always subject to change. Please read the indicated chapter prior
to attending that day’s class session. Please pay attention to the
dates scheduled for exams and due-dates for mini-project (MP) assignments.
|
Week |
Mondays |
Tuesdays |
Wednesdays |
Thursdays |
|
1 |
Mar 27: Ch 1 |
Mar 28: Ch 1 (cont) |
Mar 29: Ch 2 |
Mar 30: Ch 3 |
|
2 |
Apr 3: Ch 3 (cont) |
Apr 4: Ch 4 |
Apr 5: Ch 5 |
Apr 6: Ch 5 (cont) |
|
3 |
Apr 10: Ch 6 |
Apr 11: Ch 7 (MP1) |
Apr 12: Ch 7 (cont.) |
Apr 13: Ch 8 |
|
4 |
Apr 17: Ch 9 |
Apr 18: Review (MP2) |
Apr 19: EXAM 1 |
Apr 20: Ch 10 |
|
5 |
Apr 24: Ch 11 |
Apr 25: Ch 12 |
Apr 26: Ch 12 (cont) |
Apr 27: Ch 13 |
|
6 |
May 1: Ch 13 (cont) |
May 2: Ch 14 (MP3) |
May 3: Ch 15 |
May 4: Ch 15 (cont.) |
|
7 |
May 8: Ch 16 |
May 9: Review (MP4) |
May 10: EXAM 2 |
May 11: Ch 17 |
|
8 |
May 15: Ch 18 |
May 16: Ch 19 |
May 17: Ch 20 |
May 18: Ch 21 |
|
9 |
May 22: Ch 21 (cont) |
May 23: Ch 22 (MP5) |
May 24: Ch 22 (cont.) |
May 25: Ch 23 |
|
10 |
May 29: NO CLASS |
May 30: Ch 24 |
May 31: Ch 24 (cont.) |
June 1: Review (MP6) |
|
|
|
|
|
June 8: Final Exam, 1:10-4:00pm |
Disclaimer: I am not always as organized as this lengthy syllabus might suggest. All of these details are subject to change as the course develops. I welcome and value your input.