Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | MAT-2021-VT01 - Statistics

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Faculty

John Woodward
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Deb Grant

General Education Requirements

VSCS Mathematics

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the basic ideas and techniques of probability and statistics. Topics may include numerical and graphical descriptive measures, probability, random variables, the normal distribution, sampling theory, estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression. The use of technology may be required. Students must take a math assessment for placement purposes prior to registration. Prerequisite: Math & Algebra for College or equivalent skills.

Essential Objectives

1. Outline the general development of statistical science and list a number of common applications of statistical methodology.
2. Distinguish between descriptive and inferential statistics.
3. Create and apply various techniques used to describe data, such as pie charts, bar graphs, frequency tables, and histograms.
4. Define three common measures of central tendency (mean, median, and mode), and demonstrate the ability to calculate each manually from a series of small data sets.
5. Describe common methods of measuring variability, including range, percentiles, variance, and standard deviation and calculate each from a series of small data sets.
6. Explain the Normal Probability Distribution, techniques of sampling, the Central Limit Theorem, and the concept of standard error, and compute probabilities associated with normally distributed samples.
7. Test hypotheses about the value of the mean assuming the normal distribution and large sample results.
8. Select and perform common statistical tests including one- and two-tailed tests.
9. Define linear regression and correlation and discuss their applications.
10. Interpret and evaluate the validity of statistical data and reports.
11. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding, interpreting, evaluating and applying quantitative data and information.
12. Apply mathematical reasoning to analyze social justice problems in a variety of different contexts and consider whether these approaches are just and equitable.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Spring 2024 textbook/book details will be available on 2023-11-06. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

MAT-2021-VT01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

For Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

Readings and exercises for this course will come in four flavors:

• Primary readings and problem sets (weekly)
• Supplemental readings and comprehension quizzes (as assigned, likely weekly)
• Mid-term exam
• Option for capstone assignment of either
  • case study project, or
  • take-home final exam

Primary Readings and Problem Sets

Our primary text for this class is Introduction to Statistical Investigations (4th edition). This text will be the source of your weekly reading and problem set assignments. We will also directly interact with various selections of primary text in class together.

Supplemental Readings and Comprehension Quizzes

Other readings will be assigned periodically to reinforce, extend, or even challenge the primary text material. These supplemental readings could include:

• Data journalism stories
• Data visualization examples
• Popular press stories about statistical findings
• Academic journal articles about statistical studies
• Online datasets
• Survey questionnaires and results
• Research reports
• Cat videos
• Etc.

Each supplemental reading assigned will come with a short comprehension quiz designed to capture how well you understood the material and its relationship to primary readings and class lessons.

Case Study Project Option

Statistics, in its purest application, is really just a set of tools that helps us make the best possible guess about the nature of phenomena that we can’t directly observe. The question that statistics tries to answer is not, “What is true?” but instead, “How sure can we be about what we think is true?”

Of course, this is not necessarily how the findings of statistical studies are always understood by a lay audience of policy makers, journalists, and busy, working people. Even expert practitioners of statistics can overlook or downplay the inherent uncertainty of their "statistically significant" conclusions.

The primary text provides us with many illustrations of how a responsible application of statistics can reliably improve and expand our collective understanding of how the world works. For the case study project, you will pick one of these examples to analyze in more detail outside of class, either individually or as part of a small group. There will be several format options for packaging what you’ve learned from your analysis into a final work product, e.g., written report, slide deck, verbal presentation, etc.

Regardless of the format you choose, the overall goal will be the same: to explain how the claims made about or by the statistical study in question are (or are not) supported by the evidence and methods used by the study.

Mid-term and Final Exams

Both the mid-term and final exams will resemble a longer version of the weekly problem set assignments. Only students who earn a C or better on their mid-term exam will be allowed to choose the case study project option as their final assignment (instead of the take-home exam option).

Evaluation Criteria

Grades will be based on your performance in each of the five categories listed in the table below. The weighting factor determines how much each category counts toward your overall grade.

Extra Credit

I will entertain any and all straight-faced petitions for extra credit or makeup work from students who are unsatisfied with their mid-term evaluation. It will be up to the student to initiate this conversation, but if you do, I will be ready and willing to brainstorm appropriate extra credit or makeup assignments together.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Class sessions are held on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 PM.

Supplemental reading comprehension quizzes will be due on the Tuesday following each Wednesday class session. This gives you five full days (plus change) to complete the assignment.

Weekly problem set answers will be due on the second Friday after each Wednesday class. This gives you eight full days (plus change) to complete the primary reading and associated homework assignment. It also provides us an opportunity to use some class time to address difficulties you may be having well before the submission deadline.

Late submissions of problem set solutions will be accepted with a penalty. The purpose of these deadlines and late penalties is not so much to punish tardiness as it is to ensure I am able to review your work and develop meaningful feedback in the limited number of hours I can set aside to do so, which will generally be on weekends. That said, I do not intend to penalize you for things you cannot control. I ask that you let me know as soon as possible if extenuating circumstances are preventing you from meeting a deadline.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity