Math 365, Elementary Statistics
Syllabus = Introduction
Course Procedures = Reading Assignments: Notes, Examples, and Exercises
  Homework
  Examinations
  Grading
  About the Author
  Acknowledgment

SYLLABUS

INTRODUCTIONto top of page

My father was an accountant in the l960s. I proudly watched him work with huge ledger books where computations ran page after page. One day years later I woke up and realized that not only had my father's skills become obsolete, but the skills that I used in teaching had also become outdated. E-technology has changed the world in all spheres of life--banking, commerce, the news industry--and I believe that it also provides tremendous opportunities for improving undergraduate instructional methods and delivery systems. E-commerce has become an essential arm in the corporate sector. It is time for e-pedagogy to be an essential arm in college and university education.

At the University of Kansas I teach two courses--Elementary Statistics (Math 365) and Topics in Mathematics (Math105) using e-pedagogy. The model that I have developed for these courses has three components:

  1. Online lecture notes.
  2. Multimedia interactive online illustrations and problem solutions.
  3. Online homework.

In the fall of 2001 I was awarded a faculty fellowship to develop multimedia illustrations and problem solutions for my Elementary Statistics course. About 140 animations were created using Flash-5 software. For the problem solutions, a simple step-by-step approach was adopted. The animations ask students to complete one step at a time and then check the answer. Sometimes the answer includes visual explanations with animated and interactive graphs. Music loops are sometimes used to keep the course lively. Multimedia materials have dimensions that textbook materials do not have: pictures do not move in textbooks; textbook materials are not interactive.

I view online homework as the most important teaching and learning tool in the course. It is an extraordinary teaching tool for two reasons: it allows students to submit homework online and each time they get instant feedback. One student stated that because of these features "You become your own tutor." The homework can also be as engaging as a video game. Another student commented, "You want to do online homework because you want to win."

In my KU classes, the use of e-technology makes instruction conveniently accessible. Students are sometimes unable to come to class for a variety of reasons--illness, the necessity to work long hours, baby-sitting, sickness in the family, etc. In traditional classes, the price of missing a few lectures is enormous, but with lecture notes and homework available online, the student can easily keep pace.

This Independent Study course uses the same materials that are used on campus at the University of Kansas and offers the same conveniences. If you conscientiously use the online tools provided, you should be able to do well in this course.

The following Course Procedures section explains the steps you take the complete the course. Please read it carefully.

COURSE PROCEDURESto top of page

Reading Assignments: Notes, Examples, and Exercises to top of page

For each lesson you should study the online lecture notes and the examples, and then complete the exercises.

Each lesson is divided into separate sections devoted to a particular topic. Each section is numbered by both lesson number and section number. For example, lesson 1 has three main sections: 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. The examples and execises are numbered to correspond to a particular section.

Usually a section has example problems and solutions that immediately follow. You should study these carefully. In addition, a section usually has a set of exercises. You should complete these exercise problems and then check your answers by clicking on solutions. If you did not get the correct answers, go back and study the notes and the examples until you can understand how to arrive at the correct answer. The exercises are self-study problems; they are not submitted for grading.

Homework to top of page

For every lesson you are required to complete a set of homework problems that are computer graded. Each time you complete a problem you will get immediate feedback. The homework is designed to be the most important tool of instruction in this course--even more important than the lesson notes and the examples. You may resubmit each homework problem until you get a correct answer and understand how you have arrived at that answer. You should achieve a score of at least 80% before you move to the next lesson.

To complete your homework online, click on the homework link found in each lesson at the top of the lesson. When you reach the student login page, you will be asked for your user ID and password. For your user ID enter your seven-digit ID assigned by KU; do not use your old six-digit KUID. If you do not have a ID assigned by KU, enter your Student Code, which was provided in the welcome letter you received after you enrolled. Your password is your last name, with only the first letter capitalized.

Each homework assignment has a different number of points assigned to it. The homework assignments (a total of 32 problem sets) count for 100 out of 500 points, or 20% of your final grade.

Examinationsto top of page

You are required to take two supervised examinations--a midcourse exam that covers lessons 1 through 5 and a comprehensive final exam that covers the entire course. You may not apply to take the midcourse exam until you have completed the first five lessons and scored an average of at least 80% on homework assignments 1-16. You may not apply to take the final exam until you have received a grade for the midcourse exam, completed all the lessons in the course, and scored at least 80% on the remaining homework. You must also wait at least two weeks after taking the midcourse exam.

The exam problems are similar to the problems that you completed for your homework assignments. For both the midcourse and the final exam you will be required to complete ten problems. The following instructions apply to both exams:

  1. You have three hours to complete the exam.
  2. You need to bring an advanced calculator (T-83) to the exam. The exam is designed to be completed with the help of a calculator that can do confidence intervals and hypothesis testing.
  3. You will also need to use a standard normal χ2 and t- table on the exam. These will be provided by your exam proctor.
  4. You may use a copy of the online chapter notes during the exam. This will be provided by your exam proctor. You will not be allowed to use any notes or copies of the online course that you have printed yourself.

The midterm counts 200 points for 40% of your grade; the final also counts 200 points for another 40%. You must pass the final exam to pass the course.

For information on how to schedule an exam, see the Instructions for Requesting Examinations.

Gradingto top of page

Homework 100 points
Midcourse exam 200 points
Final exam 200 points
Total 500 points
   
Grading Scale: 90% and above A
  80% and above B
  70% and above C
  60% and above D
  Less than 60% F

You must pass the final exam to pass the course.

About the Authorto top of page

I received my Ph.D. from Indian Statistical Institute in l985 and have taught at the University of Kansas since 1988. I enjoy teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate level. At the undergraduate level, my interest is in creating and teaching online instructional materials. Academically, I am interested in the general area of commutative algebra and my research interest is in the area of projective modules and complete intersections.

Acknowledgmentto top of page

The first version of my online lecture notes was based on a statistics textbook by Ramakant Khazanie at Humbolt State University (Statistics in a World of Applications, HarperCollins, 1996). At the time, I was using the Khazanie text in class and was preoccupied with experimenting with electronic technology rather than with writing original lecture notes. Subsequently, I have revised the notes and used my own examples and exercises almost entirely. I am, however, indebted to the Khazanie text, and acknowlege its influence on the current set of lecture notes.