THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
¡BIENVENIDOS
(WELCOME)!
note:
From the top of http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/schedule.html,
you can access this syllabus if you misplace yours, want to explore its links,
or see any updates. Syllabus is subject
to change by the instructor to meet course needs, especially for unexpected school
disruptions or big changes in class size, resources, etc.
Course Number:
STAT 1380-005 (CRN#12968)
Course Title:
Basics of Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
Credit Hours:
3
Term: Fall 2011
Prerequisite: adequate
score on a placement examination or MATH 0311.
Course Fee: none
Course Meetings & Location: LART 204 BUSN326, MW 1:30-2:50, except
Sept. 5. There will likely be a “lab day” on Nov. 23 where you meet in UGLC 202.
If there’s a major disruption (e.g., H1N1 epidemic, subzero weather, etc.), be
prepared to maintain course progress via alternative means (e.g., phone, Elluminate, Internet, a Blackboard course shell, etc.) and
check your email (especially your UTEP account) regularly.
Instructor: Dr. Larry Lesser (rhymes with ‘professor’,
spelled like “<”). I began
teaching
university courses (especially stats!) in 1988 (and have been Assoc. Prof. at
UTEP since 2004), and I’ve also worked as a state agency statistician and
full-time high school math teacher.
Office Location: Bell Hall 213
Contact Info: Phone: (915) 747-6845
Email Lesser (at) utep.edu
(please include 1380 in the subject line)
Homepage: http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/
Fax: (915) 747-6502 (note: this is
a math department fax, so be sure to
have my
name clearly on it; be aware that staff are not available to relay faxes to me
outside the math dept’s hours of M-F 8-12, 1-5
Emergency
Contact: (915) 747-5761 (during math dept office
hours)
Office hours: initial office hours are MW 3-3:30, W
6:25-6:55pm and by appointment;
additional office hours or changes
will be announced/posted later; students are also welcome to try stopping by anytime
for short questions; for longer questions, students should email me several
possible appointment times that would work and I will reply with which option
works in my schedule; I expect to be assigned a graduate TA who can offer some
hours as well
Textbook(s),
Materials:
Required textbook: Jessica
Utts’ Seeing
Through Statistics (3rd ed.;
2005) Duxbury Press. Subject to change based on timing,
resources and interest, here’s the main material we plan to (un)cover: chapters 1-11 then 16, including
supplementary probability material from the handout http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/probabilitysupplement(forUTTSchapter16).doc
on topics such as simulation,
sample space, counting rules, the binomial distribution, and the geometric
distribution. You are expected to read
each chapter and do the selected HW problems for that chapter (see below) before
the class meeting we discuss that chapter (so that you are able to understand
more and offer more) and to bring your
book to each class. I will usually assess
your keeping up with reading/exercises by giving a quiz (with or without
advance notice) on the same topic. I
will give at least one class period’s advance notice for any chapters where I
actually collect written homework.
Ch.
1 (1, 3-5, 7,9,10,15,17,19); Ch. 2 (6,7,11,14,15), Ch. 3
(1-9,13,16,18-20,24,25a,26a), Ch. 4 (1,2,4-6,9,11,12,15,17,21,24,26), Ch. 5
(1-3,5,8-10,12,17,19,20,22,25a,27),
Ch.
6 (just read), Ch. 7 (1-7, 9,12-16,19,21,25,28), Ch. 8
(2-5,7,8,11,13,17,19,21,22,25), Ch. 9 (1,2,5,7,8b,9,14), Ch.
10(1,2,4,5,7-10,11a,12,13), Ch.11 (1-6,8-10,12,14,17,19), Ch.16
(1-3,6-12,17,18,20d,25), Ch. 20 (3,4,5ab,6,14,17), Ch. 22 (11-17).
Required technology:
·
“low-tech”
clicker (ABCD Card), brought to each class, starting Aug. 29: http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/ABCDclassResponseCard.pdf
see the “Participation” section later in
this syllabus for more information
·
calculator (with
square root key) brought to each class, starting Aug. 31: You’ll be allowed
to use it on virtually all activities and assessments (but it really has to be
a separate calculator, because you aren’t allowed to use devices such as a
laptop or cell phone on tests). You
still have to write out enough work so I can follow your process. Example: to
find the mean of {3, 4, 5, 5, 8}, don’t just say “5”, but write out (3 + 4 + 5
+ 5 + 8)/5 = 5. I will often demonstrate
things with a TI-73/83/84
graphing calculator, but if you don’t already own one, you can
certainly manage with a scientific calculator or even a simple calculator that
can do basic arithmetic such as square roots.
Websites such as www.prenhall.com/esm/app/calc_v2/
help you get the most out of your calculator. As logistics and interest allow,
I’ll expose you to how stats are computed with applets, graphing calculator, spreadsheet
(Excel), software (Minitab), etc., and resources for accessing/using these are
at http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/ResearchResources.html
Course Objectives (Learning
Outcomes): Students will be able to….
apply arithmetic, algebraic, geometric,
higher-order thinking, and statistical methods to modeling and solving
real-world situations.
Numerical and graphical
summaries of one-variable and two-variable datasets are interpreted, produced,
and described verbally. We assess the
reasonableness of linear models to data sets.
We assess the reasonableness of a study's conclusions based on that
study's qualities (e.g., was randomization used?).
represent & evaluate basic mathematical
information verbally/numerically/graphically/symbolically
Numerical and graphical
summaries of one-variable and two-variable datasets are interpreted, produced,
and described verbally.
expand mathematical reasoning skills & formal
logic to develop convincing mathematical arguments.
Reasoning used to apply
probability rules and to critique statistical studies (and to assess whether a
claim of significance is warranted).
use appropriate technology to enhance
mathematical thinking and understanding and to solve mathematical problems and
judge the reasonableness of the results.
technology incorporated such as spreadsheet software, internet
applets/simulations, or graphing calculators.
interpret mathematical models (formulas/graphs/tables/schematics)
and draw inferences from them.
Histograms, scatterplots,
boxplots, tables, regression lines, etc. are interpreted.
recognize the limitations of mathematical and
statistical models.
Studies done without random
selection and/or random assignment are recognized as limited. Pitfalls and limitations of experiments
(e.g., ecological validity), observational studies (e.g., no random
assignment), and surveys are discussed.
Formulas such as margin of error are recognized not to apply for a volunteer
sample, for example.
develop the view that mathematics is an
evolving discipline, interrelated with human culture, and understand its
connections to other disciplines.
Because statistics can be
applied to data from virtually all disciplines, it is natural to make clear
interdisciplinary connections.
Statistics and its tools are much newer field
than the mathematics in "other math core classes". The connection to human culture comes into
play with the human judgments that go into writing "the best" survey
question, or deciding how to handle an outlier value, etc.
This course will expose you
to typical intro topics but with particular emphasis on and grounding in
conceptual understanding and statistical literacy in real life. You deserve, need and will be offered more
than a plug-and-chug, memorize-the-recipes experience! You’ll be able to critically evaluate
statistics commonly found in the media and in your major field. You’ll become
acquainted with what is involved in the collection, interpretation, and
communication of real-world data to explore questions of interest.
Also,
future teachers will have the chance
to gain background to handle probability and statistics questions on the TExES/ExCET (http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/),
teach related TEKS (www.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter111/index.html),
and make appropriate connections to the NCTM Standards (http://www.nctm.org/standards/content.aspx?id=16909)
and the GAISE PreK-12 Curriculum Framework (http://www.amstat.org/Education/gaise/).
Course Activities/Assignments: Students will participate in in-class
activities, demonstrations, discussions, readings, and assessments. Assigned homework exercises from the
textbook are listed previously on this syllabus where the textbook is stated.
Assessment of Course
Objectives: Assessments include
written reflections, quizzes, exams, and a final project.
Course Schedule: Census
Day: Sept. 7 for UTEP (for the US, it was April
1, 2010!)
Test #1:
currently set for Oct.3, but subject to change
Turn in Project
Proposal if you’re doing Data Analysis: Oct.17
Deadline to Drop
with a “W”: Oct. 28
Test #2:
currently set for November 14, but subject to change
Last Regular
Class Meeting: November 30
Finals Week
Meeting: W, Dec. 7, 4-6:45 (as set by UTEP
registrar)
This
meeting will not be a final exam, but oral presentations of the projects; if
you have a pre-approved reason not to be able to present during this time, you
need to arrange with me as soon as possible to turn in and present your project
earlier
Grading Policy: after any rescaling needed for all
components to be on the 0-100 scale, the grade is determined by the usual
cutoffs of 90-80-70-60 based on these 3 parts:
* Tests (23% each) at
least a week or two in advance, I’ll confirm the exact material covered, the date,
and the major tables and unannotated formulas from the textbook that will be
provided on each of the 2 tests; you must bring your own calculators (see p. 2
of the syllabus) and #2 pencils; the main emphasis of the exam is not on
memorization or rote procedures, but on being able to recognize, apply, critique, and interpret concepts in context
(e.g., in newspaper articles or graphs), even if the questions have a
multiple-choice format; it is recommended that you study with a partner your
class notes, the textbook chapters, homework and quizzes.
* Quizzes/HW/One-page written reflections (23%): some of these will be with a partner, some will be “solo”;
details will be provided in advance; no more than the top n-3 scores will count; To be
sure you get credit for your written work, you need to use your full name since
there are students in the room who have identical or similar first or last
names.
* Team Project (31%) –for
requirements, resources, deadlines, etc., see
http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/Stat1380Project.html
Makeup Policy: With quizzes, I will count no more than the
top n-3 out of the n we have, so if you miss 1,2 or 3 quizzes, you
won’t get a 0 for those quizzes, they will simply not be quiz scores you count. If
your absence is for a serious reason for which you hand or email me written
documentation (e.g., a doctor’s note) within 3 calendar days of a quiz,
then there is still no “makeup”, but the quiz will not count against the number
you are allowed to “drop”.
In general
(out of fairness and logistics), late
work will not be accepted, and may be subject to a penalty in the rare
borderline cases that it is accepted at the instructor’s discretion. A makeup exam is possible only if:
(1) missing the scheduled class exam date was unavoidable for a serious reason that
you relay to me (by email) within 24 hours or the earliest (medically) possible
opportunity, even if the supporting documentation (e.g., a doctor’s note) takes
up to a week later to be relayed to me, and (2) you arrange with me to take the
makeup exam at the earliest possible opportunity.
Attendance Policy: Attendance
is required and here’s why: Much
of this course involves beyond-the-book group activities, experiences or
discussions that are virtually impossible to recreate or “make up”. Successful completion of this course is
intended not only to imply you have demonstrated sufficient knowledge
acquisition, but also that you have been exposed to key processes, modeling,
and experiences (which are especially important for future teachers, for
example). Therefore, if you are now in a situation where you expect to have
frequent absences, you might consider taking this class in another section or
another semester. Attendance is
generally taken each meeting using a sign-in sheet and it’s your responsibility
to sign it each day you attend before
the end when I am busy packing up materials. Late arrival, early departure, or blatant
nonparticipation may be counted as a half-absence or even a full absence,
depending on what is missed.
As the UTEP Catalog says, “When in the judgment of
the instructor, a student has been absent to such a degree as to impair his or
her status relative to credit for the course, the instructor may drop the
student from the class with a grade of “W” before the course drop deadline [Oct.
28] and with a grade of “F” after the course drop deadline.” In practical terms, this means a student is subject to being dropped for 5 or more
absences (unless you have given me a reason I have approved). If you choose
to withdraw, I ask that you submit the formal paperwork and send me an email to
let me know rather than just stop attending class and assume you will be
withdrawn automatically. On a positive
note, a strong record of attendance will be taken into account if your final
average is a point below a letter grade cutoff.
It’s
your responsibility to….
(1) give me a written note or email
by the 15th day of the semester [Sept. 12] if you will have absence
for religious holy days (which are excused, of course).
(2) give me an email or written documentation as soon as
possible if you anticipate the possibility of missing large parts of class due
to exceptional circumstances such as military service/training, childbirth, or
competing on official UTEP athletic teams.
(3) let me know by email (Lesser (at) utep.edu) or
voicemail (747-6845) or daytime math dept. fax (747-6502) at the earliest opportunity if you have a
serious situation which may affect a test, major assessment deadline, the final
exam week meeting, or a large number of “regular” class days. If you miss a “regular class meeting”, you
don’t need to contact me, but you do need to get copies of notes and
announcements from a classmate if you miss a class; be sure you have contact information for at least 3 classmates for
this purpose
Academic Integrity Policy: It’s
UTEP’s policy (and mine) for all suspected violations to be referred to the
Dean of Students for investigation and disposition (See Section 1.3.1 of the Handbook for Operating Procedures;
http://admin.utep.edu/Default.aspx?PageContentID=2083&tabid=30292)
Cheating, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest activities are serious acts
which erode the university’s purpose and integrity and cheapen the learning
experience for us all. Don’t resubmit work completed for other classes
without specific acknowledgment and permission from me. It is expected that work you submit
represents your own effort (or your own group’s effort, if it is a group
project), will not involve copying from or accessing unauthorized resources or
people (e.g., from a previous year’s class).
You must cite references that you do consult,
using APA style
with complete citations even for websites and people you consult.
For
Group Work: Within a group, members are allowed to divide
up subsets of the project for which individuals will take the initial
responsibility for coordinating efforts, but it is assumed that by the time a
group turns in a writeup that all members have read,
discussed, contributed to, and understand what is being turned in. Group members may even discuss general ideas
and strategies with members of other groups, but NOT share parts of actual
written work. At a minimum, to be safe,
put away all written notes and writing materials and recording devices before
having any intergroup conversations. And
if you still see a “gray area,” play it safe and ask the instructor! Intergroup conversations are not allowed
during in-class quizzes taken as teams.
Civility Statement:
You are expected to follow basic standards of courtesy (e.g., “Student Conduct”
and “Disruptive Acts Policy” in the UTEP Catalog) and may be
dismissed from class for blatant or sustained disruptive behavior. Your
comments during classroom discussions need to focus constructively and
respectfully on the intellectual merit of a position, not critiquing the
person expressing it. You should avoid
side conversations when one person (me, or another student) is talking to the
whole class. Also, do not engage in phone,
email or text conversations during class. Laptops should not be open unless
they are being used to take notes during lectures or work on course projects
during group work time. (In other words,
off-task activities such as texting, Facebook, YouTube, or emailing are
unacceptable because they distract and disrupt class participation.) If you truly are expecting an urgent call on
your cell phone or pager, please let me know and sit near the door to minimize
disruption (and have your phone on vibrate/silent instead of anything loud),
and have it handy so you don’t have to dig through a backpack for it).
Otherwise, please keep your phone/pager off during class. Feel free to give your family member or child
care provider the phone number for an academic office or lab (e.g., BUSN 306:
747-7777) near our classroom so you can rest assured that staff can quickly let
you know if there is a true emergency.
Disability Statement:
If you have or believe you have a disability requiring accommodations, you may wish to self-identify by
contacting the Disabled Student Services Office (DSSO; 747-5148; East Union Building 106; dss@utep.edu; www.utep.edu/dsso/)
to show documentation or register for testing and services. DSSO
will ask you to discuss needed accommodations with me within the first 2 weeks
of the semester or as soon as disability is known, and
at least 5 working days before an exam.
You are responsible to make sure I receive any DSSO instructions and
accommodation letters. DSSO
provides note taking, sign language, interpreter, reader and/or scribe
services, priority registration, adaptive technology, diagnostic testing for
learning disabilities, assistance with learning strategies/tutoring,
alternative testing location and format, and advocacy.
Military Statement:
Give me an email or written documentation as soon as possible if you anticipate
the possibility of missing large parts of class due to military service.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Catalog Description: “A course in statistical literacy. Emphasis will
be on standard
descriptive measures of location, spread, and association. Regression, probability and
sampling, and binomial distribution.
Interpretation of data which
occur in daily life (polls, weather
forecasting, surveys, quality control, etc.) will be stressed.”
Professionalism
Statement: Beyond the previously mentioned Civility Statement, students in
this course are required to exhibit professionalism that goes beyond avoiding
negative behaviors. This includes making
a good faith effort in preparation for and participation in individual and
collaborative class activities. A
classroom culture must be actively supported that understands that “wrong
answers” are usually correct answers to a different question or valuable
learning opportunities to address a common misconception. Also, be open to
local opportunities for professional growth or service. For example, future teachers may consider encouraging
K-12 students to enter an ASA Project
or Poster (due April 1) or joining
(at cheaper student rates!) professional organizations -- local (GEPCTM),
state (TCTM),
or national (NCTM, TODOS, or ASA).
Finally, start to be aware of
statistics in the mass media around you, in places such as: http://www.elpasotimes.com/, http://www.cnn.com, http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx,
http://www.causeweb.org/wiki/chance/index.php/Main_Page,
http://stats.org, http://www.usatoday.com/snapshot/news/snapndex.htm,
etc.
Participation: Part
of your daily class participation involves answering questions posed by the
instructor. These questions are ongoing
assessment designed to give feedback to you as well as to the instructor. Some questions will be answered
“simultaneously and anonymously” using the research-backed, classroom-tested Ed
Prather ABCD Class Response Card. Each student is responsible for coming to
each class with the ABCD Card, obtained by printing a color copy (I think
Copy Mine in the Library’s basement can do it for you for 35¢; this paper card
is much cheaper than buying a $35 clicker!) from http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/ABCDclassResponseCard.pdf
(or, print a black-and-white copy and color in the rectangles using the same
color scheme).
Confidentiality:
UTEP policy requires that inquiries about confidential information such as
grades cannot be done over the phone, but must be from your miners.utep.edu
account and accompanied by your 800 number.
If you want to know your course grade between our last meeting and when
UTEP puts grades online, you will have a chance during the last week of class
to give me a “secret code word” that I will post your course grade by at the
bottom of my homepage
if time permits.
English Language Learner (ELL) Awareness: Development of
this class was supported in part by the US DOE grant Project LEAP-UP. Many
of you are/were ELLs or may soon teach them.
I will model strategies that help ELLs (and others, too!) and
incorporate awareness of ELL issues and resources in probability/statistics
(e.g., my 2011
paper in Statistics Teacher Network, resources at http://www.tsusmell.org/, http://www.ngsp.com/tabid/1219/default.aspx,
and http://isi.cbs.nl/glossary/index.htm. The English
Language Proficiency Standards require language acquisition and
academic success in all content areas for students at all levels (beg., int., adv., adv.
high) in all domains (listening, speaking, reading, writing). Finally, consider
that the grade level readability of any subject’s textbook is from a statistical
model based on average number of syllables per word, average number of words
per sentence, etc. (e.g., look up
“readability” in MS Word Help)
Equity Awareness: Development
of this class was supported in part by US DOE grant Project ACE (ACtion for Equity) and many statistics examples we discuss
involve or apply to gender equity. Related resources at http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/equity.html. Also, check out the cool poster at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/poster.htm!
Other Resources:
Website for our textbook: www.duxbury.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=0534394027&discipline_number=17
Applets/virtual manipulatives:
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/ (click
“probability” or “statistics”)
http://www.nctm.org/standards/content.aspx?id=24600
(e.g., 5.4, 5.5, 6.6, 7.4, 7.5)
http://illuminations.nctm.org/WebResourceList.aspx?Ref=2&Std=4&Grd=0
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/ips4e/
then click “Statistical Applets”
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/topic_t_5.html
Calculation pages: http://statpages.org/
Classroom connections:
http://www.amstat.org/education/stn/ (e.g., browse
issue #64)
http://www.causeweb.org/resources/
http://www.amstat.org/education/webinars/
http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/STATResources.html
UTEP Library: Also, I’ve put some statistics books
with other conceptual intuition or real-world connections on reserve at the
circulation desk under “Lesser” or “Stat 1380.”
And on the second floor, free walk-in tutoring is available for
this course (http://marcs.utep.edu;
Library 218; 747-5366) as well as help with writing papers (Library 227;
747-5112; Writing Center (Library 227, 747-5112, http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=47508). Also, see http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/mathtips.html.