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Abstract:
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The placement of hypothesis testing in the timeline of an introductory statistics curriculum might have significant effects on learning outcomes. We tested whether the introduction of the concept of hypothesis testing early in the semester significantly increased student understanding of the topics surrounding it. Students were assessed on various aspects of hypothesis testing: the inquiry process, formulation, algorithm, and decision making. Four assessments were given at four time points: the beginning of the semester (inquiry process); after introducing the null and alternative hypotheses, concept of p-value and types of errors (formulation); after working on all steps necessary for a hypothesis test (algorithm); and at the final exam (decision making). The data indicated that the introduction of hypothesis testing early in the semester had significant, positive results on student performance, compared to introducing hypothesis testing later in the semester.
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