What .. Me Change?

Beth Chance

Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo

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Why do we need to change?

Growing interest in field of statistics Common Core State Standards are coming New educational needs New educational demands

Administrative pressure for online courses

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But what about ME?

Growing interest in field of statistics Enrollment in Cal Poly 300-level statistics courses

has grown 96% in last four years New undergraduate Teaching Statistics course for

prospective middle school and high school teachers of statistics

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But what about ME?

Common Core State Standards are coming CAOS Pretest Questions: Which of these

classes has the least variation in scores?

Correct responses:Fall 2008: 21.7%Fall 2012: 40.0%

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Took the online challenge

University offered grants, assigned time, technical support for course development

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Other positive changes?

With R. delMas and J. Garfield (1999) Research on student interaction with a software environment on sampling distributions

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Theory of conceptual change (Posner et al, 1982) With R. delMas and J. Garfield (1999)

Research on student interaction with a software environment on sampling distributions“This model proposes that students who have misconceptions or misunderstandings need to experience an anomaly, or contradictory evidence, before they will change their current conceptions.”= cognitive dissonance

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So before I can change

Build on existing literature Need to find convincing evidence for change… Collect more data!

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Guess the variable?

What is the variable?

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What is the variable?

Moved to Cal Poly

sabbatical(ISCAM)

Hybrid course

ISI course

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What is the variable? cont.

Moved to Cal Poly

sabbatical(ISCAM)

Hybrid course

ISI course

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Students’ evaluation scores of my teaching “Stat 101” across quarters

Can we explain the pattern?

Old adage: The third time I teach the course is the best I see the overall structure of the material I can anticipate common student misconceptions I have smoothed out the kinks

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Can we explain the pattern?

But maybe it’s not surprising for things to go down from there? But maybe then I begin to know the material too

well? Maybe then I begin to think I’ve already answered

that question? Maybe then I start to get complacent?

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So maybe… I need change?

To challenge myself, to keep me on my toes, to reenergize me to see what is going on in my classroom

ISI curriculum Starting from scratch Forced me out of my comfort zone My engagement in course The big surprise: It’s been fun!

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So I propose

Listen to ourselves and our students Changes can be small

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Changes can accumulate

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(1998)

Changes can accumulate

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But to be effective

Changes should come from within you, your students

Changes should benefit you, your students Changes should be driven by data

Is there an issue? What is the current state? How do things differ after the change? Be open to alternative explanations

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So how do we make effective change? Cognitive dissonance Help yourself Assessment New perspectives Group effort Existing educational literature

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s

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