What Does Research Suggest About the Teaching and Learning of Introductory Statistics at the College Level? A Review of the Literature
TL;DR: In this article, the first studies on the teaching and learning of statistics appeared in the research literature, the scholarship in this area has grown dramatically, and given the diversity of disciplines, meth...
Abstract: Since the first studies on the teaching and learning of statistics appeared in the research literature, the scholarship in this area has grown dramatically. Given the diversity of disciplines, meth...
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TL;DR: The analysis supports theory claiming that calls to increase the number of students receiving STEM degrees could be answered, at least in part, by abandoning traditional lecturing in favor of active learning and supports active learning as the preferred, empirically validated teaching practice in regular classrooms.
Abstract: creased by 0.47 SDs under active learning (n = 158 studies), and that the odds ratio for failing was 1.95 under traditional lecturing (n = 67 studies). These results indicate that average examination scores improved by about 6% in active learning sections, and that students in classes with traditional lecturing were 1.5 times more likely to fail than were students in classes with active learning. Heterogeneity analyses indicated that both results hold across the STEM disciplines, that active learning increases scores on concept inventories more than on course examinations, and that active learning appears effective across all class sizes—although the greatest effects are in small (n ≤ 50) classes. Trim and fill analyses and fail-safe n calculations suggest that the results are not due to publication bias. The results also appear robust to variation in the methodological rigor of the included studies, based on the quality of controls over student quality and instructor identity. This is the largest and most comprehensive metaanalysis of undergraduate STEM education published to date. The results raise questions about the continued use of traditional lecturing as a control in research studies, and support active learning as the preferred, empirically validated teaching practice in regular classrooms.
5,474 citations
Cites background from "What Does Research Suggest About th..."
...As recommended (36), the criteria for admission to the coding and final data analysis phases of the study were established at the onset of the work and were not altered....
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TL;DR: In this article, the impact of this research has started to change course content and structure, in both course content, structure and course content in both the academic and non-academic domains.
Abstract: 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 ...
156 citations
TL;DR: Web-augmented traditional lecture, fully online, and flipped sections, all taught by the same instructor with the same course schedule, assignments, and exams in the same semester, were compared with regards to student attitudes; statistical reasoning; performance on common exams, homework, and projects; and perceptions of the course and instructor.
Abstract: Web-augmented traditional lecture, fully online, and flipped sections, all taught by the same instructor with the same course schedule, assignments, and exams in the same semester, were compared wi...
90 citations
Cites background from "What Does Research Suggest About th..."
...The SRA has shown appropriate levels of test-retest reliability and content validity (Zieffler et al. 2008), though several studies have failed to find strong correlations between the SRA and measures of course performance, such as exams, or even strong intercorrelations between items (Garfield 2003; Tempelaar, Gijselaers, and van der Loeff 2006)....
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...Some researchers have noted that attitudinal dimensions measured by the instrument may not change markedly from the beginning to the end of one academic semester (Gal and Ginsburg 1994; Gal, Ginsburg, and Schau 1997; Zieffler et al. 2008)....
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...Johnson and Kuennen (2006), Zieffler et al. (2008), and Pearl et al. (2012) note that using instructor-created measures of student learning is not ideal because readers have no way of knowing the specific material covered and the required level of understanding in an individual instructor’s course....
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...These findings are particularly noteworthy given that prior researchers (e.g., Gal and Ginsburg 1994; Gal et al. 1997; Zieffler et al. 2008) have discussed the difficulty in eliciting changes in the SATS-36 subscales in the course of one semester....
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...The SRA has shown appropriate levels of test-retest reliability and content validity (Zieffler et al. 2008), though several studies have failed to find strong correlations between the SRA and measures of course performance, such as exams, or even strong intercorrelations between items (Garfield…...
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TL;DR: In this paper, a meta-analytic study focused on the quantitative integration and synthesis of the accumulated pedagogical research in undergraduate statistics education literature was conducted. And the results showed that cooperative, collaborative, and inquiry-based learning methods were used in college-level statistics courses.
Abstract: This meta-analytic study focused on the quantitative integration and synthesis of the accumulated pedagogical research in undergraduate statistics education literature. These accumulated research studies compared the academic achievement of students who had been instructed using one of the various forms of small-group learning methods to those who had been instructed using lecture-based instruction. The meta-analytic results showed that cooperative, collaborative, and inquiry-based learning methods were used in college-level statistics courses. The results also showed that cooperative and collaborative learning methods supported the effectiveness of the small-group learning methods in improving students' academic achievement with an overall average effect-size of 0.60. In contrast, the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning was close to zero. This significant positive average effect-size indicated that using small-group learning methods in statistics classrooms could increase the achievement of college s...
53 citations
Cites methods from "What Does Research Suggest About th..."
...These narrative reviews were conducted by Garfield (1993), Bryce (2002), Bryce (2005), Garfield and Ben-Zvi (2007), and Zieffler et al. (2008)....
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01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: A longitudinal comparison of online versus traditional instructional delivery methods indicates that there was no significant difference in student performance between the two modes of course delivery.
Abstract: This article presents a longitudinal comparison of online versus traditional instructional delivery methods. Significant research had been conducted comparing online and traditional courses. However, there is no consensus regarding student performance considering the two instructional methods. Additionally, previous studies have focused on a limited number of courses or a short time period. This research study involves a single introductory business application software course, delivered as a traditional course and as an online course, offered over a period of ten years. The course was taught by the same instructor using the same criteria and standards across all classes, however, new versions of the software were utilized. Student performance was analyzed across 30 sections of the course from the years 2001 to 2010. Results indicate that there was no significant difference in student performance between the two modes of course delivery.
48 citations
References
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Book•
01 Jan 1974TL;DR: The authors described three heuristics that are employed in making judgements under uncertainty: representativeness, availability of instances or scenarios, and adjustment from an anchor, which is usually employed in numerical prediction when a relevant value is available.
Abstract: This article described three heuristics that are employed in making judgements under uncertainty: (i) representativeness, which is usually employed when people are asked to judge the probability that an object or event A belongs to class or process B; (ii) availability of instances or scenarios, which is often employed when people are asked to assess the frequency of a class or the plausibility of a particular development; and (iii) adjustment from an anchor, which is usually employed in numerical prediction when a relevant value is available. These heuristics are highly economical and usually effective, but they lead to systematic and predictable errors. A better understanding of these heuristics and of the biases to which they lead could improve judgements and decisions in situations of uncertainty.
31,082 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1977
TL;DR: A systematic review of research methods and techniques used in qualitative and quantitative education, and some of the approaches taken, found that qualitative research is more effective than quantitative research on a number of fronts.
Abstract: I. INTRODUCTION. 1. The Nature of Educational Research II. PLANNING A RESEARCH STUDY. 2. The Research Process: From Proposal to Final Report 3. Ethics and Site Relations 4. Reviewing the Literature III. RESEARCH METHODS. 5. Statistical Techniques 6. Selecting a Sample 7. Collecting Research Data with Tests and Self-Report Measures 8. Collecting Research Data with Questionnaires and Interviews 9. Collecting Research Data through Observation and Content Analysis IV. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN. 10. Nonexperimental Research: Descriptive and Causal-Comparative Designs 11. Nonexperimental Research: Correlational Designs 12. Experiment Research: Designs, Part 1 13. Experimental Research: Designs, Part 2 V. APPROACHES TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH. 14. Case Study Research 15. Qualitative Research Traditions 16. Historical Research VI. APPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH. 17. Evaluation Research 18. Action Research
12,707 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: In this paper, the Hermeneutic Phenomenology of human science research has been studied in the context of personal experience as a starting point to understand the nature of human experience.
Abstract: Preface Preface to the 2nd Edition 1. Human Science Introduction Why Do Human Science Research? What Is a Hermeneutic Phenomenological Human Science? What Does it Mean to Be Rational? What a Human Science Cannot Do Description or Interpretation? Research-Procedures, Techniques, and Methods Methodical Structure of Human Science Research 2. Turning to the Nature of Lived Experience The Nature of Lived Experience Orienting to the Phenomenon Formulating the Phenomenological Question Explicating Assumptions and Pre-understandings 3. Investigating Experience as We Live It The Nature of Data (datum: thing given or granted) Using Personal Experience as a Starting Point Tracing Etymologjcal Sources Searching Idiomatic Phrases Obtaining Experiential Descriptions from Others Protocol Writing (lived-experience descriptions) Interviewing (the personal life story) Observing (the experiential anecdote) Experiential Descriptions in Literature Biography as a Resource for Experiential Material Diaries, Journals, and Logs as Sources of Lived Experiences Art as a Source of Lived Experience Consulting Phenomenological Literature 4. Hermeneutic Phenomenological Rel1ectlon Conducting Thematic Analysis Situations Seeking Meaning What Is a Theme? The Pedagogy of Theme Uncovering Thematic Aspects Isolating Thematic Statements Composing Linguistic Transformations Gleaning Thematic Descriptions from Artistic Sources Interpretation through Conversation Collaborative Analysis: The Research Seminar/Group Lifeworld Existentials as Guides to Reflection Determining Incidental and Essential Themes 5. Hermeneutic Phenomenological Writing Attending to the Speaking of Language Silence-the Limits and Power of Language Anecdote as a Methodological Device The Value of Anecdotal Narrative Varying the Examples Writing Mediates Reflection and Action To Write is to Measure Our Thoughtfulness Writing Exercises the Ability to See The Write is to Show Something To Write is to Rewrite 6. Maintaining a Strong and Oriented Relation The Relation Between Research/Writing and Pedagogy On the Ineffability of Pedagogy "Seeing" Pedagogy The Pedagogic Practice of Textuality Human Science as Critically Oriented Action Research Action Sensitive Knowledge Leads to Pedagogic Competence 7. Balancing the Research Context by Considering Parts and Whole The Research Proposal Effects and Ethics of Human Science Research Plan and Context of a Research Project Working the Text Glossary Bibliography Index
11,959 citations
TL;DR: Three heuristics that are employed in making judgements under uncertainty are described: representativeness, availability of instances or scenarios, which is often employed when people are asked to assess the frequency of a class or the plausibility of a particular development.
5,935 citations
"What Does Research Suggest About th..." refers background or result in this paper
...For example, Keeler and Steinhorst (1995), Giraud (1997) and Magel (1998) all investigated the use of different methods of cooperative learning in teaching statistics, and found positive results....
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...The studies on misconceptions, faulty intuitions, and errors in reasoning about concepts in statistics have been greatly influenced by the pioneering work of Kahneman, Slovic, and Tversky (1982)....
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