{"id":419,"date":"2021-08-17T17:43:39","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T00:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/?p=419"},"modified":"2021-08-17T17:43:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T00:43:39","slug":"statistics-scrambler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/statistics-scrambler\/","title":{"rendered":"Statistics Scrambler"},"content":{"rendered":"

Progress<\/span><\/h3>\n

I have felt overwhelmed by Field’s text. It started out well and gave some humorous anecdotes and funny examples, but has become confusing. It goes too quickly in some areas, but skips helpful details in others. I find myself wondering \u201cbut, when do I do this\u201d as I read HOW to apply a formula. I have noticed that this is a common feature of many stats texts that are specific to stats as a stand alone field: it assumes that you either have a wealth of background knowledge or that you are only interested in the statistical side of things.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two other texts that I have found gave me far more grounding of when and why you apply certain statistical analyses are the Creswell & Guetterman and Johnson & Christensen. These texts are both methods textbooks, and I found the examples and explanations to be linked to the research process. The statistics were part of the methods and they were explained in context. This really helped me to see the importance of integrated studies. I would much prefer to have a year long Research Methodology course that incorporated stats throughout rather than stand-alone, taught in isolation courses where you have to make the connections after the fact. I teach my middle school classes this way. There are so many connections in each subject area that it makes sense to draw on competencies and content from an integrated curriculum rather than switching abruptly between topics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nicole and I met to plan a schedule to tackle the topics. When we were reviewing some of the sample questions in the folders, she was quick to find solutions on some problems and shared a significant tip with me. Nicole\u2019s observation was that one of the biggest challenges in statistics is to determine exactly what the question is asking of you. I changed my tactics after reflecting on that for a while. I realized that my initial intention will not work. If I continue to tackle this topic in the way in which I have been, it will follow the traditional method in which second languages are often taught: which is highly ineffective for deep and lasting learning. When I first began teaching FSL, I did it the way it was being done in my school, which was different from how I learned it, and how it was reinforced in my teaching program. It was taught through reinforcing foundational vocabulary, taught in isolated but related units. This was how I have been perceiving my readings (to date). I am learning the vocabulary, but not the context. I eventually broke with my school\u2019s protocols and taught French the way I learned: immersed in French language, speaking it with fluency and providing many context clues to support new language learners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I needed the context cues in my foundation for statistics. So, I have spent almost two full weeks, with 10-12 hour days immersed in a friend\u2019s high school Moodle learning the foundations of stats. The work is based on tackling problems – IN CONTEXT – and then reviewing why\/how the steps worked. It reminded me deeply of how I teach problem solving in middle school: start with \u201cwhat is the question asking?\u201d – this will determine how your answer will look. The next step is to determine what information you are given.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Proceeding through this course definitely increased my fluency in beginner statistics. At times it would shake my confidence, because I would be progressing through a question set with conviction in my skills and then make an error that I could not clarify for myself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I paused all review readings I had been doing (I have read MANY chapters, but realized I did not \u201cown\u201d the information, it wasn\u2019t mine, I couldn\u2019t personalize any meaning) and began learning through application. I needed more interaction with the information. This course offered information and experimentation. The biggest impact for me was the immediacy of feedback. I could find out if I was applying my learning correctly and adjust when I made errors. Over time I found that I could correct my errors and I could explain where I went wrong. I understand that the textbooks have questions sets as well, but having to check my work by visiting (and interpreting) a website after doing the work was a barrier to timely feedback.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are looking for an effective and interactive approach to introductory statistics, I have just begun to play on <\/span>ck12<\/span><\/a> and I am finding it to be very helpful. The site provides lots of ways to visualize data, as well as question sets with immediate feedback and readings to support your learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/span><\/h3>\n

Creswell, J. W., Guetterman, T. C. (2019). <\/span>Educational research planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research <\/span><\/i>(6th ed.). Pearson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Field, A. (2017). <\/span>Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics<\/span><\/i> (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.<\/span><\/p>\n

Glass, G. V., & Hopkins, K. D. (1996). <\/span>Statistical methods in education and psychology<\/span><\/i> (3rd ed.). Allyn & Bacon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Johnson, R. B., & L. Christensen. (2020). <\/span>Educational Research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches<\/span><\/i>. 7th ed. SAGE.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Progress I have felt overwhelmed by Field’s text. It started out well and gave some humorous anecdotes and funny examples, but has become confusing. It goes too quickly in some areas, but skips helpful details in others. I find myself… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-phd","category-statistics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":423,"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions\/423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/hjames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}