Mission Statement:
Mathematics 67-217
Data Exploration and Analysis
Fall 2006, 3 credits
Pre-requisite: 67-110 (Number Systems) with a grade of C or better.
Course Objectives:
This course is designed to provide you with 1) experience collecting, analyzing and displaying data, and 2) understanding of statistical techniques, probability, and simulation. It will give you the skills to interpret statistical claims, and provide you with knowledge you will need to teach probability and statistics to elementary school children.
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Szydlik
Office: 218 Swart
Phone/email: 424-7350, szydlik<at>uwosh.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday: 3:00 – 3:30; Monday & Wednesday: 11:30-1:00; and other times by appointment. Please don't let yourself fall behind. I am happy to meet with you. Let me know if you would like an appointment.
Textbooks
Data Exploration and Analysis: Course Materials for Math 217.
Prepared by Dr. Szydlik, Dr. Oktac, and Dr. Collier.
Excursions in Modern Mathematic by Tannenbaum and Arnold, Prentice Hall Publishers. (You want the thin, paperback version edited by Jennifer Szydlik)
Course Outline
- Sampling – 2.5 weeks (representative samples, surveys and clinical studies)
- Exploring Data – 3.5 weeks (data displays, descriptive statistics, distributions, relationships among data, the idea of linear regression)
- Counting - 2 weeks (the multiplication rule, permutations and combinations)
- Probability – 2 weeks (language, simulations, and calculations)
- Educational Issues and Misconceptions held by Children – 2 weeks
- Probability Distributions (as time permits) - 2 weeks (the Normal Distribution, the Law of Large numbers, the Central Limit Theorem)
Instructional Format
The concepts of this course will be explored through interesting hands-on activities and problems. Class time will be spent working on those problems in cooperative small groups and discussing strategies and solutions. You are expected to participate fully in the class activities and to share your ideas with the class. You will be responsible for completing readings, working problems sets, and working on projects outside of class.
Assessment:
We will have three exams. Each is worth 20 percent of your course grade. The dates of those exams are Thursday, October 5th; Thursday, November 9th; and Thursday, December 14th.
Written work will comprise 35 percent of your grade. This work will include group projects, problem sets, and quizzes.
Your contribution to the class discussions is very important and therefore your attendance and participation comprises 5 percent of your grade in this course. You can miss two days without penalty (for any reason: e.g., illness, prior commitments, family matters, religious observance) and after that you will lose one percent of your course grade for each day missed (up to 5%) Arriving late or leaving early will count as half a percentage point.
Summary
Exam I: 20%
Exam II: 20%
Exam III: 20%
Written Work: 35%
Attendance: 5%
Total= 100%
The grading scale will be approximately as follows
A 90 - 100% of the course points
B 80 - 89%
C 70 - 79%
D 60 - 69%
F 0 - 59%
Intermediate grades (e.g., AB, BC, and CD) will be assigned as final grades when the student is close to the cutoff for the next highest grade.