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Abstracts

Volume 1, Number 1 (July 1993) ISSN: 1069-1898


David S. Moore, "A Generation of Statistics Education: An Interview with Frederick Mosteller" (79K)

This interview was conducted for JSE at the Harvard Department of Statistics on December 18, 1992. The topics discussed include the history and future of statistics education, the use of video and computers in teaching statistics, the role of data analysis in statistics textbooks, innovation in the classroom, and graduate education. --[ed.]


George Cobb, "Reconsidering Statistics Education: A National Science Foundation Conference" (94K)

Recent survey data demonstrate an acute need for curricular resources in statistics. The first half of this paper summarizes and compares a dozen current or recent NSF projects, most of which are developing such resources. Nearly all these projects involve activities for statistical laboratories, at least implicitly, although the labs are used in a variety of ways: for analysis of archival data sets, for hands-on production of data for analysis, and for simulation-based learning. These three kinds of labs are compared in terms of their complementary sets of advantages. This paper grows out of a small conference which brought together NSF Program Officers, Principal Investigators and Co-PIs of the projects, and a half-dozen other teachers of statistics. The second half of the paper develops four themes from the conference: (1) Questioning standard assumptions, (2) Resistances to change, (3) Total Quality Management, and (4) Educational Assessment. These themes are (a) offered (modestly) as useful guides to thinking about teaching statistics, then (b) exploited (shamelessly) to argue for a scorched-earth assault on our introductory courses. --GC

Key Words: Introductory curriculum; National Science Foundation; Statistics laboratory; Total Quality Management; Educational assessment; Active learning; Simulation; Archival data.


Joan B. Garfield, "Teaching Statistics Using Small-Group Cooperative Learning" (30K)

Current recommendations for reforming statistics education include the use of cooperative learning activities as a form of active learning to supplement or replace traditional lectures. This paper describes the use of cooperative learning activities in teaching and learning statistics. Different ways of using cooperative learning activities are described along with reasons for implementing this type of instructional method. Characteristics of good activities and guidelines for the use of groups and evaluation of group products are suggested. --JG

Key Words: Active learning; Small groups.


J. Tim Arnold, "The Structure and Philosophy of the Journal of Statistics Education" (20K)

The Journal of Statistics Education (JSE) has a unique structure and an inclusive philosophy that have technical consequences for readers and authors. This paper, a message from the journal's managing editor, explains why the JSE was built to have its unique structure, the format of information available to readers, and the effect the philosophy will have. The paper's Appendix outlines three groups of readers and associated methods of accessing the journal. The Appendix also describes the purpose and contents of the associated JSE Information Service. --TA

Key Words: Electronic journals; Graphics formats; Plain text.


Teaching Bits: A Resource for Teachers of Statistics (24K)

This column features "bits" of information sampled from a variety of sources that may be of interest to teachers of statistics. Joan Garfield will be abstracting information from the literature on teaching and learning statistics, while Laurie Snell will be summarizing resources from the news and other media that may be used with students to provoke discussions or serve as a basis for classroom activities or student projects. --JG


Robin H. Lock, J. Tim Arnold, "Datasets and Stories: Introduction and Guidelines" (8K)

We describe the purpose of the "Datasets and Stories" section of this journal. Guidelines for submitting datasets and articles to this section are discussed. Instructions are provided for retrieving data from the JSE data archives. --RL


Robin Lock, "1993 New Car Data" (11K)

The 93CARS dataset contains information on 93 new cars for the 1993 model year. Measures given include price, mpg ratings, engine size, body size, and indicators of features. The 26 variables in the dataset offer sufficient variety to illustrate a broad range of statistical techniques typically found in introductory courses. --RL

Key Words: Cars; Classroom data; Dataset; Introductory statistics.


Editorial Board for Volume 1, Number 1


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