A couple of comments: I agree that there's really no need to teach them computational formulae anymore -- unless there's some scenario you can imagine in which they are in dire need of a stat analysis and are away from a computer.
Where I am now we have the luxury of a two semester methods class. In the first semester, we do entirely Excel stuff (build-it-yourself, not using the builtins). I want them to be able to generate the basics on their own. In the second semester we move them to SPSS, but with the knowledge that if they had to, they'd be able to build a 3-way repeated-measures ANOVA in Excel because they know how it works. This way I think I can get at a conceptual understanding of what the stats do and how they relate to one another, and yet don't feel that it puts too much pressure on them to do a lot of hand calculation when things get complex. (For most students, just slogging through the arithmetic interferes with thinking about why they're doing it in the first damned place. By the time they get a result, they're too exhausted to think about what it means.) I am happy to see that the stats-teaching world is moving away from those stupid, cryptic computational formulae and beginning to concentrate on teaching what the statistical objects are and how they behave. I suppose I have some perverse pride that I can do a two-way ANOVA with a hand calculator, but along with that is an increasing sense of incredulity at the fact that I might ever *want* to do it. m PS I once used Aron & Aron (I think it was only the two of them at the time), and cannot recall why I stopped. I'll take another look at it. > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 9:43 AM > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences > Subject: RE: Stats help > > I would actually teach them both Excel and SPSS. I only used > Excel in undergraduate school and then got to graduate school > and had no idea how to use SPSS and was expected to know. I > started out being behind everyone else and had to teach > myself SPSS. I would think more graduate programs would use > SPSS over Excel. > > Nina > > Dr. Nina L. Tarner > Assistant Professor of Psychology > HC 219 > Department of Psychology > Sacred Heart University > Fairfield, CT. 06825 > (203)371-7915 > > > ________________________________ > > From: Michael Scoles [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wed 11/9/2005 10:20 AM > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences > Subject: Re: Stats help > > > As a balance between tedious hand calculation and magical > stat packages, I've used Excel. It is also more practical > than SPSS. Former students have told me that they were > surprised to be using statistics in their eventual careers. > They are more likely to have access to Excel than SPSS. > > Even in a graduate-level GLM class, I've found Excel to be > very useful. Its built-in routines don't go beyond two-way > ANOVA. That's great! Having students analyzing higher-order > designs through regression analysis gives them an > appreciation of the process. > > > > Michael T. Scoles, Ph.D. > Associate Professor of Psychology & Counseling University of > Central Arkansas Conway, AR 72035 > > >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 11/9/2005 8:59 AM >>> > > What follows doesn't quite address your question, but given > that you and others on the list (including me!) have students > do the work by hand, you might be interested in the following > article appearing in the most recent issue of ToP: > > Guttmannova, K., Shield, A. L., & Caruso, J. C. (2005). > Promoting conceptual understanding of statistics: > Definitional versus computational formulas. ToP, 32, 251-253. > > The authors question the teaching of computational formulas > given that instructional data analyses as well and actual > analyses of data are mostly done with statistical programs. > > Miguel > > -- > Miguel Roig, Ph.D. > Associate Professor > Department of Psychology > Notre Dame Div., St. John's College > St. John's University > 300 Howard Avenue > Staten Island, NY 10301 > (718) 390-4513 > Fax: (718) 442-3612 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~roigm > > > > -------------- Original message -------------- > > Hi everyone, > > I've been offered a section of Intermediate Statistics > at one of the CSUs. I have taught the intro course, including > one-way ANOVA and simple regression, for about 8 years. I > took a decently taught ANOVA course and very poorly taught > course in Regression & Correlation in graduate school. Once > upon a time I could do a two-level factorial ANOVA by hand. > > So I am looking for a recommendation for a good text > with sufficient practice problems (that's the way I teach. I > will also want them to do work by hand before we use SPSS). > CSU may have a book picked out (Howell is the one on my > sample syllabus) but I'd like to know what alternatives > exist. Also, for my own sake, as I intend to spend part of > the winter break refreshing my skills in this area. > > I learn/remember best by doing, so I really appreciate > recommendations of books (and online sources for that matter) > that provide actual practice problems. > > Thanks and good luck to everyone finishing the term. > > Nancy Melucci > Long Beach City College > et alia > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To > unsubscribe send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
