THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
¡BIENVENIDOS
(WELCOME)!
note:
From the top of http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/schedule.html,
you can access this syllabus if you misplace yours, want to explore its
links, or see any updates to it.
Syllabus is subject to modification by instructor to meet course needs,
especially if there are unexpected disruptions or changes in class size,
resources, etc.
Course Number: STAT 5385-001 (CRN 17038)
Course Title: Statistics
in [Mathematics Education] Research
Credit Hours:
3
Term: Fall 2011
Prerequisite: Departmental
Approval
Course Fee: none
Course Meetings & Location: MW 5-6:20pm, except Sept. 5, in Bell 143 (and
some meeting time will be held in a lab or library area for hands-on
explorations of research tools. In a major
disruption (e.g., H1N1 epidemic, subzero weather), be prepared to maintain
course progress via other means (e.g., phone, Elluminate,
Internet, a Blackboard course shell, etc.) and check your email (especially
your UTEP address) regularly.
Instructor: Dr.
Larry Lesser (rhymes with “professor”, spelled like “<”) I began teaching (especially statistics!)
university classes in 1988, and I’ve also worked in
Office Location: Bell Hall 213
Contact Info: Phone: (915) 747-6845
Email Lesser (at) utep.edu
(include “5385” in the subject line)
Homepage: http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/
Fax: (915) 747-6502 (note: this is
a math department fax, so be sure to
have my
name clearly on it; be aware that staff are not available to relay faxes to me
outside the math dept’s hours of M-F 8-12, 1-5
Emergency
Contact: (915) 747-5761 (during math dept office
hours)
Office hours: initial
office hours are MW 3-3:30, W 6:25-6:55pm and by appointment;
additional office hours or changes
will be announced/posted later; students are also welcome to try stopping by
anytime for short questions; for longer questions, students should email me
several possible appointment times that would work and I will reply with which
option works in my schedule;
Textbook: Vogt, W. P. (2007). Quantitative Research Methods for Professionals.
Chapters will be covered in an order (1-11, 17, 16, then 15 & 12-14) and with relative emphases to
support the goals of preparing you to interpret and conduct research. This outline is subject to modification by
the instructor to take into account interests, backgrounds, resource
availability, logistics, scheduling/sequencing issues, and balance between
depth and breadth. I may provide
supplementary material for which you will also be responsible. Since you know the order of chapters now, you
are expected to read each chapter (and assess your understanding by taking that
chapter’s Self-Test and checking your answers in the Appendix) before
the class meeting it will be discussed, and bring your book to each class.
Course Objectives (Learning
Outcomes): Students will….
Course Activities/Assignments: Students will participate in in-class
activities, read assigned articles and chapters, facilitate/participate in
discussions, take exam/quizzes, and do homework exercises/projects. The
instructor will make clear which assignments or assessments may be done in
pairs (or small groups) and which must be done individually.
Assessment of Course
Objectives: Assessments include
written reflections, exam, quizzes, class discussions, written research paper,
oral presentation of research paper.
Course Schedule: Census
Day: Sept. 7
Deadline to Drop
with a “W”: Oct. 28
Last Regular
Class Meeting: Nov. 30
Final Exam Meeting: as scheduled
by UTEP registrar (Mon,
Dec. 5,
4-6:45pm), unless we agree to change it
Grading Policy: after any rescaling needed for all
components to be on the 0-100 scale, the grade is determined by the usual
cutoffs of 90-80-70-60 based on these parts:
Projects (65%): these include labs, papers, reflections,
article reviews, or chapter
presentations
(see resources
for giving oral presentations). All assignments must be word processed
with double-spacing and a standard 12-point font (e.g., Times New Roman),
checked for spelling and grammar, and have any appropriate output/graphics
electronically pasted into the document.
Exercises/sections should be clearly marked, assembled in order, and
stapled (not put into a folder or sleeve) with a meaningfully-titled
identification coversheet on top. Many projects will be assigned to be done in
teams.
Final (35%):
you’ll be allowed your calculator and provided appropriate tables and
formulas
as announced
Attendance: Subject to
change if required by UTEP policy, your final course average will have
2 – 3U – E points added to it, where U = number of
unexcused absences and E = number of excused absences. This reflects how crucial participation is
for a course with “beyond-the-book” discussion, but without penalizing someone
with ≤ 2 (excused) absences.
Quizzes:
occasional unannounced quizzes will be taken into account only if your final
average falls a point below a letter grade
cutoff (i.e., they can only help)
Makeup Policy: In general (out of fairness and logistics), late work will not be accepted, and may
be subject to a penalty in the rare borderline cases that it is accepted at the
instructor’s discretion. A makeup exam
is possible if: (1) it is taken at the earliest opportunity, and (2) missing
the exam was unavoidable for a serious reason that is relayed to me (preferably
by email) within 24 hours (or the earliest possible opportunity), followed up
if necessary by documentation like a doctor’s note.
Attendance Policy: Attendance
is required and here’s why: Much
of this course involves beyond-the-book group activities, experiences or
discussions that are virtually impossible to recreate or “make up”. Successful completion of this course is
intended not only to imply you have demonstrated sufficient knowledge
acquisition, but also that you have been exposed to key processes, modeling,
and experiences (which are especially important for teachers and new researchers,
for example). Attendance is generally taken each meeting using a sign-in sheet
and it’s your responsibility to sign it each day you attend. Late arrival, early departure, or blatant
nonparticipation may be counted as a half-absence or even a full absence,
depending on what is missed.
As the UTEP Catalog says, “When in the judgment of
the instructor, a student has been absent to such a degree as to impair his or
her status relative to credit for the course, the instructor may drop the
student from the class with a grade of “W” before the course drop deadline [Oct.
28] and with a grade of “F” after the course drop deadline.” In practical terms, this means a student is subject to being dropped for 5 or more
absences (unless you have given me a reason I have approved). If you choose
to withdraw, I ask that you submit the formal paperwork and send me an email to
let me know rather than just stop attending class and assume you will be
withdrawn automatically. On a positive
note, a strong record of attendance will be taken into account if your final
average is a point below a letter grade cutoff.
It’s
your responsibility to….
(1) give me a written note or email
by the 15th day of the semester [Sept. 12] if you will have absence
for religious holy days (which are excused, of course).
(2) give me an email or written documentation as soon as
possible if you anticipate the possibility of missing large parts of class due
to exceptional circumstances such as military service/training, childbirth, or
competing on official UTEP athletic teams.
(3) let me know by email (Lesser (at) utep.edu) or
voicemail (747-6845) or daytime math dept. fax (747-6502) at the earliest opportunity if you have a
serious situation which may affect a test, major assessment deadline, the final
exam week meeting, or a large number of “regular” class days. If you miss a “regular class meeting”, you
don’t need to contact me, but you do need to get copies of notes and
announcements from a classmate if you miss a class; be sure you have contact information for at least 3 classmates for
this purpose
Academic Integrity Policy: It’s
UTEP’s policy (and mine) for all suspected violations to be referred to the
Dean of Students for investigation and disposition (See Section 1.3.1 of the HOOP ; http://admin.utep.edu/Default.aspx?PageContentID=2083&tabid=30292)
Cheating, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest activities are serious acts
which erode the university’s purpose and integrity and cheapen the learning
experience for us all. Don’t resubmit work completed for other classes
without specific acknowledgment and permission from me. It is expected that work you submit
represents your own effort (or your own group’s effort, if it is a group
project), will not involve copying from or accessing unauthorized resources or
people (e.g., from a previous year’s class).
Cite references that you do consult, using APA style
(an edition of the guide is on 2-hour reserve in the UTEP Library) with
complete citations even for websites and people you consult.
For Group Work: Within a
group, members are allowed to divide up subsets of the project for which
individuals will take the initial responsibility for coordinating efforts, but
it is assumed that by the time a group turns in a writeup
that all members have read, discussed, contributed to, and understand what is
being turned in. Group members may even
discuss general ideas and strategies with members of other groups, but NOT
share parts of actual written work. At a
minimum, to be safe, put away all written notes and writing materials and
recording devices before having any intergroup conversations. And if you still see a “gray area,” play it
safe and ask the instructor!
Civility Statement:
You are expected to follow basic standards of courtesy (e.g., “Student Conduct”
and “Disruptive Acts Policy” in the UTEP Catalog) and may be
dismissed from class for blatant or sustained disruptive behavior. Your
comments during classroom discussions need to focus constructively and
respectfully on the intellectual merit of a position, not critiquing the
person expressing it. You should avoid
side conversations when one person (me, or another student) is talking to the
whole class. Also, do not engage in
phone, email or text conversations during class. Laptops should not be open
unless they are being used appropriately for class activities. (In other words, off-task activities such as
texting, Facebook, YouTube, etc., are unacceptable because they distract and
disrupt class participation.) If you
truly are expecting an urgent call on your cell phone or pager, please let me
know and sit near the door to minimize disruption (and have your phone on vibrate/silent
instead of anything loud), and have it handy so you don’t have to dig through a
backpack for it). Otherwise, please keep your phone/pager off during
class.
Disability Statement:
If you have or believe you have a disability requiring accommoda-tions, you may wish
to self-identify by contacting the Disabled Student Services Office (DSSO; 747-5148; East Union Building 106; dss@utep.edu; www.utep.edu/dsso/)
to show documentation or register for testing and services. DSSO
will ask you to discuss needed accommodations with me within the first 2 weeks
of the semester or as soon as disability is known, and
at least 5 working days before an exam.
You are responsible to make sure I receive any DSSO instructions and
accommodation letters. DSSO
provides note taking, sign language, interpreter, reader and/or scribe
services, priority registration, adaptive technology, diagnostic testing for
learning disabilities, assistance with learning strategies/tutoring,
alternative testing location and format, and advocacy.
Military Statement:
Give me an email or written documentation as soon as possible if you anticipate
the possibility of missing large parts of class due to military service.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Technology: Bring a calculator to each class. The
one I use/model in class is the TI-84+, so I recommend that you bring an 83/84+
if you have a choice. You’ll be allowed to use a stand-alone calculator (i.e.,
not a cell phone or laptop) on quizzes and tests, but still have to be prepared
to “show your work” so that I can see your process and understanding and what
you punched in the calculator. [A very simple
example: you can’t just say the mean of {3,4,5,5,8} is 5, but need to write (3
+ 4 + 5 + 5 + 8)/5 = 5.] As logistics
and interest allow, we’ll include explorations of how statistics are computed
with technology such as applets, graphing calculators, spreadsheets, or
software such as Minitab. [more info at: http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/ResearchResources.html]
Professionalism: Be
open to local opportunities for professional growth and sharing. Encourage K-12 students to make statistics
connections while entering the ASA Poster Competitions (by Apr. 1: http://www.amstat.org/education/index.cfm?fuseaction=k12) or science fair. And consider
joining (at cheap rates while a student!) organizations at the local (GEPCTM),
state (TCTM), or national levels (NCTM or ASA).
Other Resources: For those who may be helped by consulting
statistics books for additional mathematical theory, conceptual intuition, or
real-world connections, go to the UTEP library circulation desk and ask them to
look under “Lesser”, “stat/math 5385” or “stat 1380.” Also, be aware that there are lots of free
statistics textbooks online that can be consulted as references as well (in
GOOGLE, type: online statistics
textbooks) and there are various resources at www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/STATResources.html. Please let me know of other resources you
find particularly helpful that I may not know about.
Applets to illustrate/explore statistical ideas: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/topic_t_5.html
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/tools.html#pro
http://illuminations.nctm.org/swr/list.asp?Ref=2&Std=4
http://illuminations.nctm.org/tools/index.aspx http://statpages.org/
see http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/ResearchResources.html
for literature search engines,
lists of journals that publish math/statistics education research, getting
approval to conduct research, using/accessing technology resources, etc.
2007 “SMER” report:
http://www.causeweb.org/research/guidelines/
http://www.amstat.org/education/pdfs/UsingStatisticsEffectivelyinMathEdResearch.pdf
Classroom and curriculum connections: There are many
resources for teaching and learning statistics you may want to know about such
as http://www.causeweb.org
and http://www.amstat.org/education/.
As teachers, you may note that some topics we explore (at a more advanced
level) relate to topics in the probability/statistics TEKS (www.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter111/index.html),
the NCTM Principles and Standards for
School Mathematics (http://standards.nctm.org/),
the GAISE PreK-12 Curriculum Framework
(http://www.amstat.org/Education/gaise/),
and foreign language statistics glossaries (e.g., http://isi.cbs.nl/glossary/index.htm
or
http://www.tsusmell.org/downloads/Products/Classroom%20Resources/MELL_MathTerms.pdf