In much of my experience in teaching mathematics and statistics for university students, I came up with the fact that students in general and university students in particular facing difficulties in understanding the differences between the principles of math and stat. This can be a real challenge for teachers when they try to explain statistics in the classrooms and get the students understanding its syllabus in the way that benefits their career in future. Is there any modern techniques to be used by teachers to imporove students levels of learning statistics?
Teaching math per se involves manipulation of equations while in statistics equations or formulas are already given, so the focus is more on interpretation of the values obtained. Since statistics involves a lot of formulas, I never require my students to memorize any of them but i give emphasis on its usage and interpretation. Students appreciate more Statistics when they are being realized its application.
Dear Ette and Yumi,
Thanks a lot for your answers. I am sure that is the key point of teaching statistics. But the problem is how they can imagine the topics of statistics such as probability as it need a high level of understanding that is not available at the majority of students.
Using R software is the
best way of stimulating students skills of learning Statistics.
A good starting point would be to find a topic, or collection of topics, to which your students can relate in their daily lives. One such topic might be the weather and its associated events. This of course means having access to a good source of data but you might haver some local bureaux who can help. For example you may be able to get records of daily rainfall for several years and several sites and use these to illustrate variability, dependence between data at neighbouring sites, what happens when you accumulate values into monthly totals, etc.. Associated data-types might be temperature, winds, river-flows or sea-levels. It may be that your institute already has a department that deals with such data and with whom you might co-operate to gather data-records.
The key thing might be to choose topics that have a direct meaning to your students.
Start with a problem, find the variables of interest ,gather data on variables, analysis of variables leading to solution: this is one way students can learn statistics better.
Hi sir fadhaa.. We have the same sentiments when it comes to teaching probability. It is actually the waterloo of the students. Considering the background of most of my students whose course are not math-related , what I do is giving them very simple problems. My aim is for them to understand the usage and process (permutation, combination, fundamental principle of counting and basic theorems on probability). Then I give similar (simple one) problems during their activity and in their exams. In that way, they can see patterns on the usage of those theorems on probability. We give as many as possible for them to see patterns.
hope my suggestions help. Goodluck!
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