PBIS 189 Introduction to
Statistics
Fall 2011
Section 009 1:20 to 2:50 Tu Th
Instructor: Dr. Chris Edwards Phone: 424-1358 or 948-3969 Office: Swart 123
Classroom: N. Halsey 175 Text: The Basic Practice of Statistics 4th
edition, by David S. Moore. Link to Day by Day notes.
Required
Calculator: TI-83, TI-83 Plus, or TI-84
Plus, by Texas Instruments. Other TI graphics calculators (like the TI-86) do
not have the same statistics routines we will be using and will cause you
troubles.
Catalog
Description: Descriptive statistics/elementary probability/basic
problems of statistical inference: estimation, confidence intervals, hypothesis
testing, regression and correlation.
Prerequisite: Mathematics 100 with a C or better or placement.
Course Objectives: (Click here for full document.) This course focuses on critical thinking and active learning. Students will be engaged in problem solving and will come to understand that a "problem" is a situation that is unfamiliar and one for which a solution is not immediately evident. Being stuck is a natural state of problem solving and an essential part of improving thinking.
Specifically students will
¥ collect data, observe patterns, make and verify conjectures
¥ improve their ability to reason logically
¥ develop effective written and oral communication skills
¥ improve skills related to critical thinking, problem solving and creativity
¥ use and understand symbol systems and quantitative methods
¥ understand principles of mathematics and the sciences.
Grading: Final grades are based on 480 points:
|
Topic |
Points |
Tentative Date |
Exam 1 |
One-Variable Descriptive Statistics |
60 pts. |
September 29 |
Exam 2 |
Two-Variable Descriptive Statistics |
60 pts. |
October 20 |
Exam 3 |
Sampling, Probability, and the CLT |
60 pts. |
November 17 |
Exam 4 |
Statistical Inference |
60 pts. |
December 15 |
Group Presentations |
20 Points Each |
80 pts. |
Before Exams |
Quizzes |
10 Points Each |
80 pts. |
Weekly |
Homework |
10 Points Each |
80 pts. |
Weekly |
Attendance is a very important component of success in my class because many of
the skills and lessons we will learn will be a direct result of classroom
activities that cannot be reproduced easily. Thus, final grades are based on
attendance as well as total points earned. The number of quiz scores that may be dropped is based on
absences.
Presentations: There will be four
presentations, each worth 20 points.
The descriptions of the presentations are in the Day By Day Notes. I will assign you to your groups for
these presentations randomly, but I want to avoid you having the same members
each time. I expect each person in
a group to contribute to the work; you can allocate the work in any way you
like. If a group member is not
contributing, see me as soon as possible so I can make a decision about what to
do. Part of your presentation
grade will be based on your own evaluations of how each person contributed to
the presentation. The topics
are: 1 - Displays (September 27).
2 – Regression (October 18).
3 - Sampling (November 15).
4 - Statistical Hypothesis Testing (December 13).
Quizzes: Approximately once a week, we will have a quiz on the current
material. These quizzes are a way
for me to provide feedback to you on your progress in the course. You will be allowed to drop up to 2
quizzes, based on your course attendance.
Homework: I will collect three homework problems approximately once a week. The due dates are listed on the course outline below. While I will only be grading three problems, I presume that you will be working on many more than just the three I assign. I suggest that you work together in small groups on the homework for this class. What I expect is a well thought out, complete discussion of the problem. Please don't just put down a numerical answer; I want to see how you did the problem. (You won't get full credit for just numerical answers.) The method you use is much more important to me than the final answer. Important Grading Feature: If your homework percentage is lower than your exam percentage, I will replace your homework percentage with your exam percentage. Therefore, your homework grade cannot be lower than your exam grade.
Office
Hours: Office hours are times when I will
be in my office to help you. There
are many other times when I am in my office. If I am in and not busy, I will be happy to help. My office hours for Fall 2011 semester
are 10:20 to 11:00, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and 3:00 to 4:00 Thursday,
or by appointment.
Philosophy: I
strongly believe that you, the student, are the only person who can make
yourself learn. Therefore,
whenever it is appropriate, I expect you to discover the statistics we
will be exploring. I do not feel
that lecturing to you will teach you how to do statistics. I hope to be your guide while we learn
some statistics, but you will need to do the learning. The textbook we will be using for this class will require
you to actually read it to master the material.
My idea of education is not
"Teaching is telling and learning is listening". I believe that you must be
active in the learning process to learn well. My job as a teacher, therefore, is not to tell you the answers to the problems we will encounter;
rather it is to point you in a direction that will allow you to see the
solutions yourselves. To
accomplish that goal, I will work to find different interactive activities for
us to work on. Your job is to use
me, to use your text, to use your friends, and any other resources.
Homework Assignments: (subject to
change if we discover difficulties as we go)
Homework 1, due
September 20 |
Chapter 1: 1.4
page 10 |
Homework 2, due
September 27 |
Chapter 2: 2.10
page 51 |
Homework 3, due
October 11 |
Chapter 4: 4.24
page 108 |
Homework 4, due
October 18 |
Chapter 5: 5.24
page 139 |
Homework 5, due
November 8 |
Chapter 8: 8.28
page 208 |
Homework 6, due
November 15 |
Chapter 10: 10.46
page 268 |
Homework 7, due
December 6 |
Chapter 14: 14.26
page 359 |
Homework 8, due
December 13 |
Chapter 18: 18.34
page 454 |
The tentative schedule below details the daily topics, text sections, quizzes, homeworks, presentations, and exams.
Tuesday |
Thursday |
September 6 |
September 8 Day 1 |
September 13 Day 2 |
September 15 Day 3 |
September 20 Day 4 |
September 22 Day 5 |
September 27 Day 6 |
September 29 Day 7 |
October 4 Day 8 |
October 6 Day 9 |
October 11 Day 10 |
October 13 Day 11 |
October 18 Day 12 |
October 20 Day 13 |
October 25 Day 14 |
October 27 Day 15 |
November 1 Day 16 |
November 3 Day 17 |
November 8 Day 18 |
November 10 Day 19 |
November 15 Day 20 |
November 17 Day 21 |
November 22 Day 22 |
November 24 |
November 29 Day 23 |
December 1 Day 24 |
December 6 Day 25 |
December 8 Day26 |
December 13 Day 27 |
December 15 Day 28 |
Managed by chris edwards:
click to email chris edwards
Last updated August 1, 2011