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Activity Number:
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414
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Type:
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Topic Contributed
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Date/Time:
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Tuesday, August 2, 2016 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
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Sponsor:
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Section on Statistical Education
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Abstract #320703
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View Presentation
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Title:
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Traditional vs. Simulation-Based: Curricula Comparison in a Small-Scale Educational Experiment
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Author(s):
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Karsten Maurer* and Dennis Lock
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Companies:
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Miami University and Miami Dolphins
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Keywords:
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simulation-based learning ;
experimental design ;
curriculum assessment
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Abstract:
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Conducting inference is a cornerstone upon which the practice of statistics is based. As such, a large portion of most introductory statistics courses is focused on teaching the fundamentals of statistical inference. The goal of this study is to make a formal comparison of learning outcomes under the traditional and simulation-based inference curricula. A randomized experiment was conducted to administer the two curricula to students in an introductory statistics course. Students of the simulation-based curriculum were found to have improved learning outcomes on topics in statistical inference; however, a clear violation of between student independence due to group administration of curriculum treatments casts doubt on the statistical significance of these results. A simulation study is used to demonstrate the volatility of Type I error rates in educational studies where classroom level covariance structures exist but comparisons are made on the student level; a commonly overlooked issue in small scale educational studies.
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Authors who are presenting talks have a * after their name.
