Kaleidoscope Borman 2006-7
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DEVELOPMENT OF TUTORIALS FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SOFTWARE
Derek Borman
Psychology Department
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Contents |
Conception of The Project
Having taught Introductory Statistics for a number of years now, I have become impressed with two realities: 1)Upon completion of a beginning course in college-level statistics, students have few opportunities to apply their learning. 2) Failure to apply statistical concepts leads quickly to an erosion of statistical skills. Faced with such realities, I have chosen to focus my Kaleidoscope project on answering the following questions:
1.What can I do to solidify key, statistical skills while students are still in my class?
2.What can I do to support students in their statistical applications after they move on from my classroom?
Project Rationale
At MCC, approximately 4,200 students enroll in psychology courses, each year. About 900 of these students (18%) are enrolled in PSY 230/231 (Introduction to Statistics) or PSY 290AC (Introduction to Research Methods). Virtually all students enrolled in these classes are required not only to have a conceptual grasp of topics covered in these courses, but also to be able to apply their understanding to real-world investigations, using sophisticated statistical analysis software.
One of the greatest challenges that instructors face is making time for and teaching large groups of students how to use critical analysis software, such as SPSS and Excel. This is particularly problematic for students completing large projects outside of class and for students taking internet-based courses. What psychology students need is a comprehensive set of tutorials that are easily accessible and address topics that are specific to their needs.
There are a number of websites that provide instruction in the use of SPSS and/or Excel. However, these websites are inadequate.
The tutorials that I have created (and will continue to create) remediate the shortcomings of available web tutorials by providing students with a more holistic view of the data entry, analysis and interpretation process.
Most of the students who enroll in PSY 230/231 and PSY 290AC go on to pursue a major in psychology at a four-year institution. Unfortunately, many of these students forget the specifics of their statistical training before they have a chance to use it again. The present project bridges this knowledge gap by providing easily accessible, clear and relevant web-based tutorials that students can use well beyond their life at MCC. This is the component that I am most excited about. That is, supporting my students long after they leave my classroom.
Project Goals & Objectives
The objective of this project was to develop interactive, multimedia tutorials for introductory statistics students. Introductory Statistics courses offered through the Psychology Department focus computer application on the Statistical Package for The Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel. Therefore, the proposed tutorials would focus on providing students with knowledge of these applications.
According to feedback from statistics instructors, the specific applications that introductory statistics students should be most familiar with (on the computer), include the following:
- Basic exploratory analyses, including calculation of descriptive statistics, frequency counts and graphs.
- Data Entry, analysis and interpretation for the following inferential statistical analyses: t-test (one-sample, dependent & independent), analysis of variance (one-way and two-way independent), Pearson correlation and chi-square (goodness of fit and test of independence).
Project Implementation
Early in the Fall of 2006, I conducted interviews to determine instructor needs regarding initial instruction and subsequent retention of statistical computer skills. I interviewed both Residential and Adjunct Statistics Instructors who teach PSY 230/231 and PSY 290AC. These instructors indicated that students must be better prepared to do the following:
1. Identify the proper statistical analysis to apply to a given research design.
2. Understand and be able to check (via SPSS) assumptions related to a particular statistical analysis.
3. Identify and understand descriptive statistics that appear in the output from SPSS.
4. Interpret output from inferential analyses conducted on SPSS.
Using the above concerns as a framework, I proceeded to conduct a content analysis of online SPSS and Excel tutorials (Please see "Annotated References for internet links to online tutorials used). The following issues were common to most or all of these online supplements.
1. Failure to provide instruction about exploratory procedures in basic data analysis.
2. Failure to target specifically the inferential statistical analyses (i.e., t-test, analysis of variance, correlation, chi-square) typically covered in introductory statistics and methods courses.
3. Failure to provide instruction about how to enter data for various types of inferential statistical analyses.
4. Failure to provide interactive components such as animations and dynamic quizzing.
5. Failure to provide adequate instruction about how to interpret and draw conclusions from inferential statistical analyses.
Results from both assessments were used as the framework for the development of online tutorials for SPSS and Excel.
The following is a list of links to the SPSS online tutorials:
The following is a list of links to the Excel online tutorials:
Project Results & Future Directions
Four of the ten tutorials were completed by the middle of the Fall 2006 semester. The four completed tutorials were for the SPSS program and specifically focused on basic data entry techniques, as well as the one-sample t test, independent t test and dependent t test.
Students were able to access and use these tutorials at the end of the semester. A focus-group conducted with PSY 230 students (two groups with twelve students in each) revealed a number of strengths and weaknesses of the tutorials:
Strengths of the tutorials:
- Easy to follow
- Self-paced
- Accessible off campus
- Easier to remember than static images
Areas for improvement:
- Every tutorial needs to begin with proper data entry procedures.
- Tutorial should be broken down into sections with a transition for each section.
- Users should be able to navigate more dynamically through the tutorial instead of being tied to a strictly linear structure.
- Screen images should center more specifically on relevant menus, buttons, etc.
- Data analysis examples should be more concrete.
- Audio narration would be helpful.
Per the suggestions of students, I have begun to revise the tutorials. The new tutorials should address all of the previous student concerns. New slides from the new tutorials can be viewed by clicking on the thumbnails to the right.
Reflection on My Kaleidoscope Experience
The Kaleidoscope experience has given to me the gifts of people and time. During my year-long immersion in the Kaleidoscope program I have gotten to know other excellent faculty whose insights and companionship I prize as one of the gemstones of my fifth year at the fine institution of Mesa Community College.
The people in our Kaleidoscope group "touched" me on a weekly basis with their ideas and insights. We discussed everything from education to politics. And as my Kaleidoscope experience evolved, I became increasingly impressed with two facts: 1) There is an awful lot that I DON'T know about where my institution has been and where it is going. 2) There is an awful lot that others DO know about where my institution has been and where it is going.
I learned things in Kaleidoscope that I could not learn in any other setting. I learned about campus politics and how they affect faculty and their departments. I learned about people in different departments and how their needs compared with the needs of the people in my department. I learned about individual people who I have come to respect and appreciate as people and professionals. But most of all, I learned that if I don't stay connected with other staff and faculty across this very large campus, I will not understand what MCC is supposed to be about and how I can contribute to its mission as a whole.
Regarding time, I am not the best manager of it. This isn't to say that I don't get a lot done. Actually, I get quite a bit done. I tend to work and work and work...and work. That's just what I do. I measure my worth as an instructor not so much by the lives that I touch but by my ability to produce measurable increases in the amount and variety of curricular materials that I have at my disposal. Some of this comes from what I like to think is a "creative drive." Some of this comes from my striving to fulfill my need to feel competent. However I choose to explain it, this drive is all-consuming. I think that this drive for measurable productivity often leads to a very selfish use of time.
And then there was Kaleidoscope. In keeping with the Kaleidoscope metaphor, this unique experience has blurred, re-colored and re-arranged my perceptions of my own inner compulsions toward and ideas about productivity. Wow! That was a mouthful. More to the point, I have re-considered how the type of productivity that I have traditionally pursued can diminish the experience that learners in my classroom are having.
As this realization crystallized for me (at the beginning of the Spring 2007 semester), I re-dedicated myself to providing feedback to my students with deeper, more individualized feedback on their work. I went out of my way to offer extra-credit opportunities that would require more time on my part (for grading) but would be more enriching for my students. And as I have invested more time in my students, I have been gratified by the energy that it has brought to my classroom.
Annotated Reference List
The online tutorials assessed included the following:
