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Math 1530 - 71 & 71E, Spring II 2013 - 3 Credit Hours

AP Building Room 202 - Elements of Statistics

Ellen Smyth

Course Information

What Can this Course Do for Students?

This course will give students:

  1. An incredible boost to resumes or job-seeking portfolios – a comprehensive statistical research project demonstrating to employers strong work ethic and top quality work,
  2. Opportunities for developing leadership and interpersonal skills in a team environment, winning the heart of almost any employer,
  3. Practical experience with computer-based technologies, increasingly essential to compete in today’s marketplace,
  4. Problem-solving and critical thinking abilities that employers consider among the most important skills needed to succeed in the workplace, and
  5. An understanding of statistics and research that will allow students to critically assess and understand the world of data around them.

Source for what employers want:  Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce (September 2006), pg. 9 and 42-43, The Conference Board, Inc., the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate Voices for Working Families, and the Society for Human Resource Management.

 
Course Description:

In this class, students will learn all about data:  how to design data studies, how to collect data, and what to do with the data.  Students will learn how to represent a set of possibly thousands of data values as one single number (e.g., mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation) so that others can have an instant idea about the data.  Students will learn to create tables, charts and graphs to give instant visual impressions of data.  Students will learn how to make estimates and guesses for data not fully known, where they will survey only a few and yet make conclusions about many.  Students will also learn to analyze two different sets of data (e.g., age and height of children) to prove whether or not these sets are associated. 

Course Objectives:

Upon completion of this course, I will be able to:

  1. Understand what statistics is (Chapter 1),
  2. Describe how data should be gathered (Chapter 4) and presented (Chapter 2),
  3. Comprehend, calculate and apply something called regression models and correlation analysis to decide if two variables are associated with each other (Chapter 3),
  4. Grasp and compute some basic probabilities (Chapter 5),
  5. Understand what probability and sampling distributions are and know how to apply them (Chapters 6 and 7),
  6. Calculate and analyze confidence intervals, which estimate data we don't know using the small amount of data we do know (Chapter 8), and
  7. Evaluate and interpret studies using hypothesis testing, where we can use the small data we do know to prove our guesses about the big data we don't know (Chapter 9).

Prerequisites and Co-requisites:

Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry or the equivalent

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbook:

Statistics:  The Art and Science of Learning from Data, 2nd edition, by Alan Agresti & Christine Franklin.  Pearson/Addison Wesley.  The textbook is available either:

  1. Directly from CourseCompass/MyMathLab for $80 (see below for Course ID), which does not include a hard copy of the book but does include an electronic (online) copy of the book and CourseCompass access.  This also does not include the Minitab Statistical Software; however, students can use the lab computers for the Minitab projects, download a free 30-day trial of Minitab, or purchase six-month access to Minitab for $29.99.

  2. From the Austin Peay Bookstore for $115, which includes the hard copy of the book and CourseCompass access.

Required Supplementary Materials:
  • Minitab Statistical Software (may use lab licenses on lab computers or free trial)  Note:  Minitab isn't compatible with Macs, only PCs.  If students do not have access and cannot get access to a PC with Minitab, they should contact the instructor for alternate arrangements immediately.
  • MyMathLab in CourseCompass (Course ID = smyth29304)
  • TI-83 or TI-84 calculator, which students can borrow for free from APSU at FC!!!!
  • Ear buds or headphones if students do not have access to watch and listen to online videos at home

Hardware and Software Requirements:

Students are required to have extensive access to a computer with the following:

  1. High speed internet connection,
  2. Adobe Reader,
  3. Adobe Flash Player,
  4. Java,
  5. Apple QuickTime Player
  6. TestGen Plugin, and
  7. The ability to install additional software or plug-ins, which our APSU at FC Building lab already has.

E-Section Lab Materials:

Students with uncompleted mathematical deficiencies as noted on the OneStop advising page need to be in the algebra lab portion of the course and will need to contact James Sanders for additional materials and arrangements.  The e-section is a separate course as a bonus for a tiny additional fee.  Students should treat the SLA lab as a separate course in terms of the hours required and studying.

Students registered for an e-section are required to attend the SLA Lab. The time and place for this lab appear in your APSU One-Stop schedule. These labs are part of the Tennessee Board of Regents approved learning support program. You will be given a list of lab requirements on the first day that you meet your lab. Failure to attend the lab or to meet the lab requirements may result in a grade of FA for the course.

Students enrolled in an E-section of a mathematics course have the opportunity to accomplish two goals: (1) complete the general education core requirement in mathematics; and (2) satisfy the TBR requirement to address mathematics deficiencies. The requirements for the removal of the mathematics deficiency will be stated in the SLA syllabus given to you on the first day that you meet your lab.
 

Instructor Information

Ellen Smyth
Instructor
Mathematics Department
Austin Peay State University at Ft Campbell
P.O. Box 4626
Clarksville, TN  37044
APSU at FC Building 203, Room 106
Phone:  (931) 221-1443
Fax:  (931) 221-6354
Email:  smythe@apsu.edu
Website:  apsu.edu/smythe
 Office Hours: 
Monday & Wednesday By Appointment 
Tuesday & Thursday 11-12:30

Assessment and Grading

Each student's grade will be based on the activities outlined below.  Please consult the paper homework assignment list for specific problems, and consult the schedule below for specific deadline dates.   Final letter grades follow the standard ten point distribution.

Activity

Percentage

Class Activities Participation (3+)

5

Online CourseCompass Homework (10)

15

Paper Homework (2)

10

CourseCompass (9) Quizzes

10

Data & Statistics Group Projects (3)

15

Midterm Exam

15

Final Exam

30

Total

100

A midterm grade shall be awarded for all students in this course. The grade awarded may not necessarily be based on 50% of the course requirements and may or may not differ from the final grade. Your midterm grade will be posted on AP Self Service.


Assignment Due Dates

Assignments must be completed by the deadlines listed below. Students are fully responsible for working out technical difficulties with CourseCompass technical support or making alternative arrangements (such as using computers at the main campus library) in order to complete all assignments on time by the due date specified. Any assignment - homework, quizzes, discussions, group projects, or exams - not completed and submitted on time will be assigned a grade of zero.
Day Date Assignment Due
Wednesday Mar 20 Orientation HW, Chapter 1*, Pre-Project Report Due
Wednesday Mar 27 Chapter 2*
Sunday Mar 31 Chapter 3*
Wednesday Apr 3 Chapter 4*
Sunday Apr 7 Project 1 & Peer Reviews Due
Sunday Apr 7 Chapter 5*
Thursday Apr 11 Midterm Exam, Paper Homework (from Ch 1-5) & Review Collected
Wednesday Apr 17 Chapter 6*
Sunday Apr 21 Chapter 7*
Wednesday Apr 24 Project 2 & Peer Reviews Due
Sunday Apr 28 Chapter 8*
Wednesday May 1 Chapter 9*
Sunday May 5 Project 3 & Peer Reviews Due
Thursday May 9 Final Exam, Paper Homework (Ch 6-9) & Review Collected

*For each chapter due date, the online homework and online quiz are due.  Before taking the online quiz, students must first obtain 80% or more on the online homework.  The paper homework for each chapter should also be completed before each quiz but will not be collected until the exams.
 

Assignments

  1. Online CourseCompass Homework - Homework assignments covering each chapter plus an orientation assignment must be completed through MyMathLab in CourseCompass.  Students must achieve at least 80% on each homework assignment to be allowed to take that chapter's quiz.
  2. Online CourseCompass Quizzes - One CourseCompass quiz for each chapter will be given.  The CourseCompass quiz questions will most closely resemble questions in the exam. Though they cover the same objectives as the online and paper homework, these questions are not often phrased similarly to the homework. Quizzes are open book and open class notes but not open neighbor. Quizzes are expected to be the sole work of the student taking the quiz.
  3. Paper Homework, Collected Twice - The assigned paper homework (including textbook problems and midterm and final reviews) will be collected for a grade at the midterm and final exams.
  4. Data & Statistics Group Projects - Students will be acting in a group as real-life junior statisticians by experiencing the process of a real world statistical project from start to finish.  The overarching project is divided among three smaller projects:  one on data gathering and two on data reporting and analyses using Minitab.  (Similar to Excel, Minitab is a statistical software.)
    Each group member is not only responsible for his or her assigned portion of the project but for the entire project itself. Each group member should, at least one day before the project due date, make sure that the submitted project file(s) in the project dropbox(es) are complete and accurate according to the rubric for that project. Group projects not submitted to appropriate dropboxes by the due date will result in group grades of zero.
  5. Midterm and Final Exams - Midterm exams will be covering Chapters 1 through 5, and the comprehensive final exam will be covering Chapters 1 through 9.

Course Ground Rules
Students are fully responsible for learning the technical aspects of this course, including how to navigate Desire2Learn, CourseCompass, Minitab, and other technical aspects of online courses - asking questions and seeking help as needed.  Students are expected to address technical problems immediately. 
 
Due dates for all assignments can be found in this syllabus and in CourseCompass. Students are expected to complete and submit all graded items by the due date to receive credit. Students are expected to read and respond to D2L group discussions frequently, especially as due dates approach.

Since this course is much more difficult than typical courses, student dedication to the course is absolutely crucial and will tremendously influence grades. Students are expected to dedicate at least 10 to 15 hours a week to this course outside of class in order to have a decent chance at passing the course.  The vast majority of students who do not dedicate around 15 hours outside class each week do not pass the course.  On the other hand, most students who do spend at least 15 to 20 hours each week studying sincerely, honestly, and with undivided attention will earn Bs and Cs.  If a student earns an A in this course, he or she is all sorts of awesome!

All work must be completed by the responsible student. If any work is submitted in the name of a student that was completed by someone other than that student, that student risks failing the course and being removed from the university, according to university policies.

Expected Course Conduct

Students are expected to:

  1. Be respectful,
  2. Attend class and be on time,
  3. Make a conscious effort to avoid disrupting classmates during class,
  4. Allow the entire class to answer phone calls together on speakerphone should a cell phone ring (not vibrate),  
  5. Place cell phones and class notes of any kind in any form in designated areas during exams in order to avoid failing the course,
  6. Not bring minors under the age of 18 to class unless said minors are enrolled in the class, by university policy, and
  7. Read and follow the "Code of Student Conduct" in the Student Handbook.

Students with Disabilities

Austin Peay State University abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which stipulates that no student shall be denied the benefits of an education "solely by reason of a handicap." Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities and hearing, sight, or mobility impairments. If I have a documented disability that may have some impact on my work in this class and for which I may require reasonable accommodations, I should immediately communicate with the instructor and with Disabilities Services in Clement 140, 221-6230 or 221-6278 (V/TTY), so that such reasonable accommodations may be arranged.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify me of such changes in class, in D2L, or by email.