Innovative Teaching in Probability and Statistics
Paul N. Corey, University of Toronto
USE OF SIMULATION IN THE TEACHING OF NON SPECIALISTS
Simulation has a long history with an early famous example being the resampling carried out by William Seally Gossett in his famous 1908 paper introducing Student’s t ratio for comparing means. He re-sampled from a collection of prisoner finger lengths. Simulation in applied statistical research is used to verify whether optimal asymptotic properties of estimators exist for small samples. This talk demonstrates the value of using simulation for teaching biostatistics to the non-specialist. One example involves the comparison of small sample properties of Student’s t test and the randomization test in the comparison of two independent sample means.
Jim B. Stallard, University of Calgary
THE EDUCATION OF US
Recent advances in Statistical Education have spawned a variety of innovative and exciting pedagogical approaches that can be implemented into any undergraduate course in statistics – spanning first-year service courses to fourth-year courses in probability theory. Many of these methods are implemented in a student-centered learning environment, focusing on experiential learning and authentic assessment. In this presentation, I will briefly outline some of these teaching models and methods that have been recently (and successfully) adopted by members of the Statistics Division at the University of Calgary.
Paul Cabilio, Acadia University
AN INTEGRATED COMPUTER AIDED APPROACH TO TEACHING INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS
The challenge in teaching introductory statistics and probability courses is to find ways to engage students more fully in the learning process. The hope is that the outcomes of such engagement will result in a deeper understanding of the fundamental ideas of statistics. In this talk I will present some of the evolving strategies that we have employed at Acadia over the last decade to achieve this end. At the core of our approach lies the integration of class presentations and studio labs in teaching. The computer plays an important role in the delivery of both components.