“The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions”. Ralph Waldo Emerson.
I developed the Savannah Math Labs platform in order to provide a hands-on, active learning experience for students of Statistics. Students complete weekly lab projects that reinforce statistical concepts, develop writing abilities and build technical skills in Microsoft® Excel®. The Savannah Math Labs curriculum for Introduction to Statistics encompasses the following ten modules:
Lab Module 1: Descriptive Statistics and Graphics
Lab Module 2: Probability and The Law of Large Numbers
Lab Module 3: Event Combinations and Statistical Independence
Lab Module 4: Discrete Random Variables, Expected Value and Variance
Lab Module 5: Normal Random Variables and Sampling Distributions
Lab Module 6: Confidence Intervals
Lab Module 7: Hypothesis Testing
Lab Module 8: Covariance, Correlation and Simple Linear Regression
Lab Module 9: Chi-Squared Statistical Hypothesis Tests
Lab Module 10: Statistical Bias
In addition to a written text for each module, the Savannah Math Labs website www.savannahmathlabs.com also provides data sets and a series of both animated videos and Microsoft® Excel® video tutorials, guiding students through each step of the lab projects. Each lab consists of a series of data-based calculations, followed by a set of reflection questions in which students demonstrate mastery of the underlying statistical concepts in a short, written report.
I intentionally chose Microsoft® Excel® due to its broad utility and appeal to students with a wide range of academic interests and career aspirations. Data analysis strategies implemented in Microsoft® Excel® easily transfer to other statistical analysis platforms such as R and R Studio.
I teach the following courses at FIU which cover lab modules 1 – 7 of the Savannah Math Labs curriculum:
STA 2122: Statistics for Behavioral and Social Sciences I
STA 2023: Introduction to Statistics for Business and Economics
STA 3111: Statistics I
I implement active learning activities into all of my face-to-face Introductory Statistics classes. Students form small groups and help one another work through the various exercises. Some examples are provided here:
- Icebreaker: First Week of Class
- Z-Scores: Shaq Versus Kevin Hart
- Skee-Ball and Deal or No Deal
- Who is the GOAT?
I also teach STA 3033, an advanced Calculus-based undergraduate class for Computer Science and Engineering majors entitled “Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Computer Science”.