Robin Lock to Visit UMN and Present at Stat Chat

Robin asks the perennial question...

Robin Lock from St. Lawrence University will be visiting the University of Minnesota in the upcoming week. He will also be presenting at Stat Chat on Tuesday March 29, 2011. Stat Chat is an informal, but informative, monthly get-together of local statistics educators. We meet in room 205 of the Olin-Rice Science Center at Macalester College [See Map].

The agenda for this Stat Chat is as follows:

• 6:00 - 6:30, Dinner
• 6:30 - 7:00, Journal Club: Situation Normal --- from Alex Bellos's book, Here's Looking at Euclid (Sharon Mosgrove)
• 7:00 - 8:00, Main Event: Starting Inference with Bootstraps and Randomizations (Robin Lock)

Abstract for Robin's Talk
Computer-intensive methods such as bootstrapping and randomization tests provide a way to introduce students to fundamental ideas of statistical inference that require relatively few prerequisites. I'll discuss an ongoing project to revamp an introductory course to use such methods as the starting point for inference.

PLEASE RSVP to Danny Kaplan so that we can plan sensibly for dinner. As always, last-minute deciders and guests are welcome.

Stat Chat (Follow-Up)

On Tuesday February 22, 2011 the Catalysts for Change presented the CATALST curriculum at the monthly Stat Chat meeting. After a rousing dinner, Stat Chatters were invited to take part in an activity that not only gave them an opportunity to witness first-hand how the course is taught, but also introduced them to the metaphor of cooking that has become ubiquitous with the CATALST curriculum.

After that activity, a brief overview of the entire course was shown. The activities and student homeworks for Unit 1 were given a more thorough examination. Within this part of the presentation, TinkerPlots was also demonstrated for the participants. Stat Chatters were also given a cursory look at Unit 2 and methods of introducing the randomization and bootstrap tests were revealed.

The slides used can be obtained here. [PDF]

Catalysts in Japan: Part II

Bob is wearing a tie...or is
it Photoshop?

Joan and Bob gave three invited presentations in Tokyo, Japan, as guests of Rikkyo University and The University of Tokyo. On March 5, 2011 they presented Using Activity-Based Instruction to Develop Students' Understanding of Statistics at the Japanese Conference on Teaching Statistics. On March 6, 2011 they presented Assessing Important Learning Outcomes for a First Course in Statistics at the annual meeting of the Japanese Statistical Society. On March 8, 2011 they gave three talks about their NSF-funded work in statistics education to the faculty affiliated with the Center for Statistics and Information (CSI) of Rikkyo University. Despite the earthquakes which occurred as their flight home was boarding, they arrived safely home after an interesting and enjoyable week in Japan.