Search

One learning goal of the introductory statistics course is to develop the ability to make sense of research findings in published papers. The Atlantic magazine regularly publishes a feature called "Study of Studies" that summarizes multiple articles published in a particular domain. We describe a classroom activity to develop this capacity using the "Study of Studies." In this activity, students read capsule summaries of twelve research papers related to restaurants and dining that was published in April 2015. The selected papers report on topics such as how seating arrangement, server posture, plate color and size, and the use of background music relate to revenue, ambiance, and perceived food quality. The students are assigned one of the twelve papers to read and critique as part of a small group. Their group critiques are shared with the class and the instructor. A pilot study was conducted during the 2015-2016 academic year at Amherst College. Students noted that key details were not included in the published summary. They were generally skeptical of the published conclusions. The students often provided additional summarization of information from the journal articles that better describe the results. By independently assessing and comparing the original study conclusions with the capsule summary in the "Study of Studies," students can practice developing judgment and assessing the validity of statistical results., Comment: in press, CHANCE

Many have argued that statistics students need additional facility to express statistical computations. By introducing students to commonplace tools for data management, visualization, and reproducible analysis in data science and applying these to real-world scenarios, we prepare them to think statistically. In an era of increasingly big data, it is imperative that students develop data-related capacities, beginning with the introductory course. We believe that the integration of these precursors to data science into our curricula-early and often-will help statisticians be part of the dialogue regarding "Big Data" and "Big Questions".

Statistics students need to develop the capacity to make sense of the staggering amount of information collected in our increasingly data-centered world. Data science is an important part of modern statistics, but our introductory and second statistics courses often neglect this fact. This paper discusses ways to provide a practical foundation for students to learn to "compute with data" as defined by Nolan and Temple Lang (2010), as well as develop "data habits of mind" (Finzer, 2013). We describe how introductory and second courses can integrate two key precursors to data science: the use of reproducible analysis tools and access to large databases. By introducing students to commonplace tools for data management, visualization, and reproducible analysis in data science and applying these to real-world scenarios, we prepare them to think statistically in the era of big data.

Heavy alcohol use and its associated negative consequences continue to be an important health issue among adolescents. Of particular concern are risky drinking practices such as playing drinking games. Although retrospective accounts indicate that drinking game participation is common among high school students, it has yet to be assessed in current high school students. Utilizing data from high school students who reported current drinking game participation (n=178), we used latent class analysis to investigate the negative consequences resulting from gaming and examined underlying demographic and alcohol-related behavioral characteristics of students as a function of the resultant classes. Three classes of "gamers" emerged: (1) a "lower-risk" group who had a lower probability of endorsing negative consequences compared to the other groups, (2) a "higher-risk" group who reported that they experienced hangovers and difficulties limiting their drinking, got physically sick, and became rude, obnoxious, or insulting, and (3) a "sexual regret" group who reported that they experienced poor recall and unplanned sexual activity that they later regretted. Although the frequency of participating in drinking games did not differ between these three groups, results indicated that the "lower-risk" group consumed fewer drinks in a typical gaming session compared to the other two groups. The present findings suggest that drinking games are common among high school students, but that mere participation and frequency of play are not necessarily the best indicators of risk. Instead, examination of other constructs such as game-related alcohol consumption, consequences, or psychosocial variables such as impulsivity may be more useful.