Papers by Andrew Zieffler
Journal of Statistics Education, 2008
all rights reserved. This text may be freely shared among individuals, but it may not be republis... more all rights reserved. This text may be freely shared among individuals, but it may not be republished in any medium without express written consent from the authors and advance notification of the editor.
Teaching Statistics, 2008
Journal of Statistics Education, 2014
Students often are confused about the differences between bar graphs and histograms. The authors ... more Students often are confused about the differences between bar graphs and histograms. The authors discuss some reasons behind this confusion and offer suggestions that help clarify thinking. "Using playing cards to differentiate probability interpretations"
Developing Students’ Statistical Reasoning
An essential characteristic of statistical data analysis is that it is mainly about describing an... more An essential characteristic of statistical data analysis is that it is mainly about describing and predicting aggregate features of data sets. Students, however, tend to conceive a data set as a collection of individual values instead of an aggregate that has certain properties ( ...
Informal inferential reasoning is a relatively recent concept in the research literature. Several... more Informal inferential reasoning is a relatively recent concept in the research literature. Several research studies have defined this type of cognitive process in slightly different ways. In this paper, a working definition of informal inferential reasoning based on an analysis of the key aspects of statistical inference, and on research from educational psychology, science education, and mathematics education is presented. Based on the literature reviewed and the working definition, suggestions are made for the types of tasks that can be used to study the nature and development of informal inferential reasoning. Suggestions for future research are offered along with implications for teaching.
and Beng Chang all rights reserved. This text may be freely shared among individuals, but it may ... more and Beng Chang all rights reserved. This text may be freely shared among individuals, but it may not be republished in any medium without express written consent from the authors and advance notification of the editor. Key Words: Statistics Education Research; Teaching and learning; College students. Since the first studies on the teaching and learning of statistics appeared in the research literature, the scholarship in this area has grown dramatically. Given the diversity of disciplines, methodology, and orientation of the studies that may be classified as "statistics education research, " summarizing and critiquing this body of work for teachers of statistics is a challenging and important endeavor. In this paper, a representative subset of studies related to the teaching and learning of statistics in introductory, non-calculus based college courses is reviewed. As a result of this review, and in an effort to improve the teaching and learning of statistics at the introd...
Journal of Statistics Education, 2012
ABSTRACT This paper reports on an instrument designed to assess the practices and beliefs of inst... more ABSTRACT This paper reports on an instrument designed to assess the practices and beliefs of instructors of introductory statistics courses across the disciplines. Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, this project developed, piloted, and gathered validity evidence for the Statistics Teaching Inventory (STI). The instrument consists of 50 items in six parts and is administered online. The development of the instrument and the gathering and analysis of validity evidence are described. Plans and suggestions for use of the STI are offered.
Technology Innovations in Statistics Education, 2013
In the past several decades, the statistics textbook has evolved to include a variety of ancillar... more In the past several decades, the statistics textbook has evolved to include a variety of ancillary materials intended to supplement students’ learning and assist the teacher (e.g., workbooks, study guides, audio program, test banks, PowerPoint slides, links to applets and websites, etc.). Given the capabilities of modern technology and the need for change in content and pedagogy in the introductory statistics course, a new vision of a textbook is offered, one that exploits new technology, provides modern content, and is a more integral part of the course. Rather than serving as a supplement to a course, the modern textbook needs to embody the course. An example of such a text in the context of a unique, new introductory statistics course is provided.
Statistics Education Research Journal, 2011
In C. Reading (Ed.), Data and context in statistics education: Towards an evidence-based society.... more In C. Reading (Ed.), Data and context in statistics education: Towards an evidence-based society. Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Teaching Statistics (ICOTS8, July, 2010), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Voorburg, The Netherlands: International Statistical Institute. www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/publications.php [© 2010 ISI/IASE] DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTRUMENT TO ASSESS STATISTICAL THINKING
Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are responsible for the instruction of approximately 15% of i... more Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are responsible for the instruction of approximately 15% of introductory courses in U.S. statistics departments (Blair, Kirkman & Maxwell, 2013). Little is known about graduate teaching assistants’ beliefs and practices regarding the teaching of introductory statistics. As part of an NSF-funded project (eATLAS, DUE 1044812 & 1043141), an online survey was developed to explore the beliefs and practices of statistics GTAs, including course content priorities, teaching methods, use of technology and assessment strategies. The data collected from the survey were based on responses from 213 GTAs across over 35 Ph.D. granting institutions in the United States. The results can inform future programs for GTA development. OVERVIEW Institutions rely on graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) to teach a substantial share of statistics course offerings. According to Blair, Kirkman and Maxwell (2013), GTAs teach approximately 15% of introductory statistics courses...
Statistical literacy and statistical reasoning are important learning goals that instructors aim ... more Statistical literacy and statistical reasoning are important learning goals that instructors aim to develop in statistics students. However, there is a lack of clarity regarding the relationship among these learning goals and to what extent they overlap. The REasoning and Literacy Instrument (REALI) was designed to concurrently measure statistical literacy and reasoning. This paper reports the development process of the REALI assessment, which included test blueprint, expert review, item categorization, pilot and field testing, and data analysis to identify what measurement model best represents the constructs of statistical literacy and reasoning given the criteria of fit and parsimony. The results suggested that statistical literacy and reasoning can be measured effectively by the REALI assessment with high score precision. First published November 2018 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives
The American Journal of Occupational Therapy
Importance: Insufficient voluntary forearm movements are associated with ineffective and ineffici... more Importance: Insufficient voluntary forearm movements are associated with ineffective and inefficient functional performance among people poststroke. Although evidence supports the application of the occupational therapy task-oriented (OTTO) approach for this population, the training protocol does not explicitly address the role of forearm rotation movements. In addition, a need exists for theoretical support for orthotic interventions for people poststroke. Objective: To examine the efficacy of (1) a forearm rotation orthosis, (2) the OTTO approach, and (3) the combination of the two with people poststroke with a hemiparetic arm. Design: Stratified, randomized, two-group, single-blinded, repeated-measures design. Setting: Rehabilitation clinic. Participants: Participants (N = 14) with a diagnosis of stroke and at least 10° of voluntary shoulder and elbow movement. Intervention: Participants were stratified into three groups by motor function (mild, moderate, severe) and randomly as...
CBE—Life Sciences Education
Multiple reports highlight the increasingly quantitative nature of biological research and the ne... more Multiple reports highlight the increasingly quantitative nature of biological research and the need to innovate means to ensure that students acquire quantitative skills. We present a tool to support such innovation. The Biological Science Quantitative Reasoning Exam (BioSQuaRE) is an assessment instrument designed to measure the quantitative skills of undergraduate students within a biological context. The instrument was developed by an interdisciplinary team of educators and aligns with skills included in national reports such as BIO2010, Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians, and Vision and Change. Undergraduate biology educators also confirmed the importance of items included in the instrument. The current version of the BioSQuaRE was developed through an iterative process using data from students at 12 postsecondary institutions. A psychometric analysis of these data provides multiple lines of evidence for the validity of inferences made using the instrument. Our results...
The Growing Importance of Statistics No one will debate the fact that quantitative information is... more The Growing Importance of Statistics No one will debate the fact that quantitative information is everywhere and numerical data are increasingly presented with the intention of adding credibility to advertisements, arguments, or advice. Most would also agree that being able to properly evaluate such evidence and data-based claims are important skills that all citizens should have, and therefore, that all students should learn as part of their education. It is not surprising therefore that statistics instruction at all educational levels is gaining more students and drawing more attention. The study of statistics provides students with tools and ideas to use in order to react intelligently to quantitative information in the world around them. Reflecting this need to improve students' ability to think statistically, statistics and statistical reasoning are becoming part of the mainstream school curriculum in many countries. For example, more statistical content is being mandated in the K-12 mathematics curriculum (Australian Education Council, 1994; Curriculum Corporation, 2006; Department for Education and Employment, 1999; Ministry of Education, 1992; National Council of Teachers for Mathematics, 2000). Additionally, as more and more departments realize the importance of statistical thinking in their own disciplines, enrollments in statistics courses at the college level continue to grow (Scheaffer & Stasney, 2004). Moore (1998) suggested that statistics should be viewed as one of the liberal arts because statistics involves distinctive and powerful ways of thinking: "Statistics is a general intellectual method that applies wherever data, variation, and chance appear. It is a fundamental method because data, variation, and chance are omnipresent in modern life" (p. 134).
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Papers by Andrew Zieffler