What is ARCOTS?
PROGRAM
Printable program
Invited talks
Invited Speakers 
Short Talks , Posters
Abstracts of Short Talks & Posters
Program Outline
Printable flyer
Registration
Registration form
(MS Word document)
Location of the Conference in ETSU campus: 
 Upper level of D.P. Culp University Center The talks will take place  in the Forum.  Lunch will be in Dining Room 2 ; poster session and afternoon refreshments in Dining Room 2. 
Entrance to the center is through the middle and lower levels. Use ramp in the center of the building, elevator or stairs to go to the upper level.
Contact and information
seier@mail.etsu.edu 
or 
Phones
(423) 439 6974 /(423) 439 4349
Appalachian Regional Conference On Teaching Statistics 

ARCOTS


March 29th, 2003
Forum - Culp Center
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, Tennessee 

Join us for a day of discussion on innovative ways of teaching Statistics, focusing on the teaching of introductory statistics courses.


Johnson City and how to get here Meals and accomodations

Program Outline

There will be 3 consecutive sessions; each one of them composed by an invited talk and a group of short talks. After the 3 sessions there will be a poster session and a panel discussion.

Session 1:
Teaching Philosophy, Methods and Strategies

Session 2:
Use of Technology

Session 3:
On-line Instruction

Poster Session

Panel discussion.

 

 INVITED TALKS:

Ready, Tech, Go:
If technology has revolutionized the teaching of statistics, why are we still teaching the same old course?
                        Richard DeVeaux (Williams College)

Incorporating Technology into Introductory Statistics Classes: Active Learning Java Applets for Demonstrating Key Concepts 
                                    Christine Anderson-Cook (Virginia Tech)

Learning Statistics: An Experiment Comparing Online and In Class Instruction -
                                     Jessica Utts (U.C. Davis)

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

INVITED SPEAKERS:

Jessica Utts -  Professor in the Department of Statistics at UC Davis, ASA and IMS Fellow. Member (1997-2002) and Chair (1999-2002) of the Advanced Placement Statistics Development Committee. Numerous publications in the areas of regression, robustness, applied statistics and the use of statistics in research in psychology and parapsychology.  Extensive consulting experience and numerous TV interviews including CNN, ABC Nightline, Larry King Live. Recipient of teaching awards and author of the books: Seeing Through Statistics and Mind on Statistics (with Robert
Heckard). Editor-in-chief of CyberStats."

Richard D. De Veaux - Professor of Statistics in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Williams College, ASA Fellow, with extensive research in Neural Networks, Data Mining and applied statistics. Has received several teaching  and research awards. Author of a  new Introductory Statistics book and forthcoming  books on Data Mining and  Experimental Design. In his spare time he leads a doo-wop quartet (the "Diminished Faculty"), bicycles and is the father of four children.

Christine Anderson-Cook - Associate Professor in  the Department of Statistics at Virginia Tech. Co-Developer of Statistical Java, a free web-based package to help demonstrate statistical concepts for introductory statistics classes. Associate book review editor for the Journal of the American Statistical Association and The AmericanStatistician. Research areas include statistics education, response surface methodology,graphical methods, design of experiments, directional data, and applications of statistics in engineering, crop and soil sciences, pharmacology, geology and food sciences. 
 

 
Program 

(Talks and panel discussion will be in the Forum)

8:30- 9:00 Arrival / Registration/ Coffee 

9:00-9:05  Welcome- Anant Godbole, Chair, Math Department ETSU

Session 1: Teaching Philosophy, Methods, and Strategies

9:05-10:00 Ready, Tech, Go : If technology has revolutionized the teaching  of statistics, why are we still teaching the same old course? 
 Richard D. De Veaux, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
 
10:05 -10:20 Strategies for teaching confidence intervals
Scott Preston, State University of New York, Oswego, New York

10:25-10:40 FreeCell, Students, and Statistics
Paul Baker, Catawba College, Salisbury, North Carolina

10:45-11:00 Astrology is True (p<.05), or the Dangers of Indiscriminate Hypothesis Testing
Christopher J. Mecklin, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky

11:05-11:20    Our Experience in Group Projects 
 Hasan Hamdan and Arlene R. Casiple, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

(10 minute break)

Session 2 : Use of Technology

11:30-12:15  Incorporating Technology into Introductory Statistics Classes: Active Learning Java Applets for Demonstrating Key Concepts 
 Christine Anderson-Cook, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
 


12:15 – 1:10 LUNCH BREAK
(Dining Room # 2)

1:10-1:25 A statistics application software in Java
Kevin R. Doheny, Dalton State College, Dalton, Georgia

1:30 -1:45  The Cave Project – Teaching introductory statistics in an active- learning/computer-enhanced environment
Jeff Knisley, Robert Price Jr., and Edith Seier, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee

1:50-2:10 Using a NSF- CCLI Grant to Improve Instruction in Introductory Statistics
Cathy Witlock, Dot Sulock, and Steve Patch,  University of North Carolina, Asheville, North Carolina

(10 minute break)

Session  3:  On-Line Instruction

2:20 -3:15 Learning Statistics: An Experiment Comparing Online and In class instruction 
Jessica Utts , University of California, Davis, California

3:20-3:35 Experiences from an Online Introductory Level Biostatistics Course - What Does and Does Not Work
Gail Tudor,  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

3:40-3:55 Comparison of Streaming Media Technology for the classroom
Michael Allen , Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville,  Tennessee

3:55-4:20 Poster Session. See list below - Refreshments will be served (Dining Room # 1) 

4:20-5:00  Panel discussion

Christine Anderson-Cook ,  Richard DeVeaux ,  Jessica Utts
 
 
List of Posters

 Developing an introductory statistics course with R 
 Motoya Machida, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tennessee 

 Sampling Experiments for Teaching Statistics 
 Dana Quade and Michael J Symons, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill- North Carolina

myJavaStat: an Environment for Teaching Statistics
   E. James Harner - West Virginia University- Morgantown- West Virginia

Sampling Simulators for Use in the Introductory Statistics Classroom.
Mary Ella Poteat and Malissa Trent, Northeast State, Technical Community College, Blountville, Tennessee

 

 

 
SHORT TALKS 
 
 

Session 1: Teaching Philosophy, Methods and Strategies.

            Scott Preston - State University of New York (SUNY), Oswego, New York
              Paul Baker- Catawba College-,Salisbury, North Carolina
              Christopher J. Mecklin- Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky
              Hasan Hamdan and Arlene R. Casiple - James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Session 2 : Use of Technology

            Kevin R. Doheny- Dalton State College, Dalton, Georgia.            Jeff Knisley, Robert Price Jr. , Edith Seier - East Tennessee State Univ., Johnson City, TN
              Cathy Witlock, , Dot Sulock and Steve Patch 
            University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, North Carolina

Session  3:  On-Line Instruction
 

Gail Tudor - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
 
              Michael Allen - Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville,  Tennessee
 

 
POSTERS

Developing an introductory statistics course with R 
  Motoya Machida - Tennessee Technological University - Cookeville,Tennessee

Sampling Experiments for Teaching Statistics
   Dana Quade and Michael J Symons- University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

myJavaStat: an Environment for Teaching Statistics
 E. James Harner - West Virginia University- Morgantown, West Virginia

Sampling Simulators for Use in the Introductory Statistics Classroom
Mary Ella Poteat and Malissa Trent- North East Tennessee C.C.- Blountville,Tennessee
 
ABSTRACTS
Strategies for teaching confidence interval
      Scott  Preston -  State University of New York - SUNY Oswego, New York
The recent issue of the Journal of Statistics Education (V10N03) includes a collection of articles devoted to statistical literacy. The authors have admirable goals and, much to their credit, produce a number of worthy illustrations of assessment strategies. The confidence interval is one of the culminating points of many introductory statistics courses; in my talk I’ll discuss some of my experiences working to help concrete thinkers achieve fluency with confidence intervals. In particular, I’ll demonstrate some strategies for leading students to concern themselves less with formulas, and to give them a successful framework to discover how confidence intervals work and, consequently, succeed at assessments.
FreeCell, Students and Statistics
     Paul Baker- Catawba College- Salisbury, North Carolina
The Windows-ubiquitous computer game FreeCell gives rise to some fairly sophisticated statistical questions. Since most students are acquainted with FreeCell and enjoy computer games, it’s possible to sneak in some fairly sophisticated statistics without great pain to the teacher or the student. As they play FreeCell, students can be guided to investigate empirical probability versus theoretical probability, expected values, random distributions, the Central Limit Theorem and 
hypothesis testing. Motivated by FreeCell, students seem to understand these concepts better than when taught using traditional teaching methods. 
Astrology is True (p<.05), or the Dangers of Indiscriminate Hypothesis Testing
     Christopher J. Mecklin- Murray State University- Murray, Kentucky
As we know, null hypothesis testing is widely used by researchers from many fields in order to draw inferences.  Unfortunately, many users of statistical methods do not adequately understand the methodology.  These users often resort to "hunting" for p-values and drawing grandiose conclusions when the p-value is less than a standard level of significance (i.e. \alpha=0.05).
In this presentation, I describe a situation where the indiscriminate application of the chi-square test of independence to a large data set that cross-classified marriages by the astrological sign of the bride and groom led to concluding that there was "scientific proof of the link between star signs and human behavior".  This somewhat amusing case study is used to demonstrate the difference between statistical and practical significance.  Issues such as sample size, effect size, and power need to be considered.  I also describe how I use this example in teaching introductory statistics. .  The major intention is to drive home the point that rejection of a null hypothesis is NOT the only factor to consider in statistical analysis.
Our Experience in Group Projects 
     Hasan Hamdan and Arlene R. Casiple - James Madison University- Harrisonburg, Virginia
The importance of computer projects in an elementary statistics course is addressed. The choice between group and individual projects is also discussed. In case the group projects are preferred, the following questions are investigated: how do we form the groups? what is a good group size? What guarantees that everyone in the group is doing his/her share? How do the size and nature of group projects differ from the size and nature of individual projects? Are the expectations the same? Finally; how do we evaluate the performance of computer projects? We also address some future plans for quantitative studies.
A statistics application software in Java-
           Kevin R. Doheny- Dalton State College - Dalton, Georgia.
DSC Stats, a Java application software, is limited functionality software for an introductory statistics course. It can compute (for 3 < N < 1001) the average, sample and population standard deviations, quartiles, and maximum and minimum values of a data set. Also, a one variable z- or t-test can be performed. The software also allows for manipulation of the data set or multiple data sets (up to 256 sets), such as sorting, moving, and stacking. Random data sets can be generated (uniform and normal distribution). The interface consists of a text editor atop a spreadsheet. The text editor can open, edit, and save text files. The spreadsheet opens and saves tables with space and tab delimited text, and allows editing. The software was written with a grant, and is free for download, use, and editing
The Cave Project – Teaching introductory statistics in an 'active- learning/computer-enhanced' environment.
           Robert Price Jr. , Edith Seier - East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
Recently, thanks to an NSF grant, a new computer classroom ('The StatCave') for the teaching of introductory statistics has been implemented. Due to the large number of sections, most sections meet twice a week, one in the 'Cave' (decorated with especially prepared statistical posters) and one in the 'Mansion' (a regular classroom accross the hall from the Cave). The organization of the StatCave and the 'spider web' (training, communication among instructors, the Resource Center, Web page for students, worksheets, etcetera) that surrounds the Cave  will be discussed.
Using a NSF- CCLI Grant to Improve Instruction in Introductory Statistics.
           Cathy Witlock, , Dot Sulock and Steve Patch 
            University of North Carolina at Asheville – Asheville, North Carolina
The statistics department at UNCA wrote and received an NSF grant 3 years ago to build a computer classroom for  use by both introductory and upper level statistics classes. We will discuss both the grant writing process and the ways in which our curriculum and teaching methodology have changed since we started using the computer classroom.  Members of the committee who wrote the grant will share the details of the proposal process including their handling of the budget and the equipment selected.  Instructors who have been using the new classroom will discuss testing, computer based projects, and other opportunities and challenges that have arisen since we started using the new lab.
Experiences from an Online Introductory Level Biostatistics Course - What Does and Does Not Work
Gail Tudor - University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Just as students learn to transition their learning and studying style from a traditional style classroom to an online classroom, so must the professors alter their own styles and tools when it comes to teaching an online course.  This presentation will present what one professor has learned over eight semesters of teaching a completely online introductory level Biostatistics course to undergraduates and graduate students, both residential and distance learners.  Such topics as the use of audio slides and written notes; evaluations, quizzes and exams; cheating; small and large group communication, use of new technology, teaching software online, and time commitments will all be discussed.  This presentation will concentrate on what works and what does not work from students’ perspectives and from the professor’s perspective.
Comparison of Streaming Media Technology for the classroom
           Michael Allen - Tennessee Technological University - Cookeville,  Tennessee
 Many of today's classrooms are now dustless because of the use of whiteboards.  But,  they are also becoming deskless.  With the latest technology,  instructors are now able to teach online using internet based distance learning techniques in realtime.  In this talk I will present some of the latest innovations in distance learning and streaming media and discuss some of the problems and pitfalls associated with this technology.  Examples of such innovations include Mimioboard, Eluminate and Presenter One.
Developing an introductory statistics course with R 
  Motoya Machida - Tennessee Technological University - Cookeville- Tennessee
In a recent trend of the freeware movement I decided to use R in teaching an introductory statistics course.
R is a statistical computing environment, and often referred to as the reeware version of S-plus.
In this poster session I plan to present sample course materials, including a demonstration (using a computer projector) and a course booklet.
Sampling Experiments for Teaching Statistics
   Dana Quade and Michael J Symons- Department of Biostatistics-School of Public Health
               University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7420

        In-class, real-time sampling experiments are effective and well received by students in our statistics classes.  A demonstration is described together with some other example populations for similar sampling.
        Teaching points achieved by this exercise include: (1) illustration of key concepts: a random variable, random numbers, and random sampling; (2) bias with judgement samples; (3) the unbiasedness of random sampling; (4) the decrease in variance of the sample mean with increasing sample size and hence, the plausibility of the variance of a sample mean being the variance of the individual observations divided by the sample size; and (5) the predictable distributional pattern assured by the Central Limit Theorem.  Other topics which could be similarly well-punctuated by concrete simulations are the coverage of confidence intervals and the reality of Type I and Type II errors.
        The time required by these demonstrations is five to ten times that of a lecture using overheads or a blackboard.  However, the student interest in live demonstrations is greater, and we think their grasp of the point(s), and their retention of them, is also greater with their participation than when we deliver them in a traditional lecture.  As valuable as these demonstrations seem to be, the number of them in a course must be balanced against the desired breadth of topics to be covered.
 
Sampling Simulators for Use in the Introductory Statistics Classroom.
Mary Ella Poteat and Malissa Trent -Northeast State Technical Community College, Blountville, TN

 For our introductory statistics course, we have found that the use of a hands-on sampling simulator enables our students to visualize distributions and to discover basic rules of probability.We use a professional bead box, which is typically utilized in industrial quality control.  However, the same types of experiments can also be performed with very inexpensive materials.  Our poster presentation will contain suggestions for creating sampling simulators and examples of classroom activities.
What is ARCOTS?

 The Mathematics Department of East Tennessee State University is organizing a regional conference on the teaching of Statistics (ARCOTS). 

The event is directed toward regular and adjunct faculty teaching Statistics courses at the college level, graduate students of Statistics or Mathematics planning a career in teaching, and high school teachers teaching AP Statistics. Those who are responsible for planning such courses would also find the material valuable.

There is no registration fee for the conference. However, attendees are required to fill a registration form. Due to space limitations attendees are encouraged to register early.

The conference will be a one-day event oriented toward the discussion of innovative ways of teaching introductory statistics. However, contributed presentations on the teaching of Statistics at all levels are welcome. 
Registration

There is no registration fee, but attendees are required to register. Due to space limitations, registration will be done on a first come, first served basis.

Registration forms can be mailed at request or they can be downloaded from this webpage.  Registration can be done by:
· fax (423) 439 8361 
· e-mail  seier@mail.etsu.edu
· mail :    Mathematics Department 
                        P.O.Box 70663
                        East Tennessee State University
                       Johnson City, TN 37604
 
Lunch
A lunch buffet will be offered at the reduced price of $ 5 in Dining Room # 2 of the Culp Center. If you plan to join us for lunch please indicate so in the registration form and send a check (deadline: March 10) for that amount payable to ETSU. Please, mail the check to the address above (ref: ARCOTS)
Participants presenting  papers or posters do not pay for lunch. The lunch will provide a great opportunity to talk to the speakers, interact with colleagues and discuss ideas.

Dinner 
The conference is planned to finish at 5 pm. After the conference (6:00 pm) there will be an informal dinner at a place close to campus. The Super China Buffet (1605 State of Franklin) is located in the Kroger Shopping center at the corner of State of Franklin and South Greenwood (Pizza Hut is at the corner visible from the street). It offers an 'all you can eat' buffet  with a  flexible menu,  wide variety of Chinese food, seafood, steak, pizzas, salad, fruit , some deserts, etcetera (price $ 9.80 includes tax and  hot tea/water but does not include other drinks). All attendees are cordially invited to join us for  dinner (at their own expense), no reservations are required. The dinner will take place in the 'party room' of the restaurant.
 

Partial support for this conference comes from an Instructional Development Grant from the Teaching and Learning Center at East Tennessee State University.