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2014 NCTM Regional Conference Houston, TX Using ‘Fun’ in the Statistics Classroom: Research and Recommendations Larry Lesser et al. Dept. of Mathematical Sciences, Professor The University of Texas at El Paso Supported in part by Project UPLIFT (NSF EHR DUE ) Universal Portability of Learning Increased by Fun Teaching

some Lesser (2007, 2008) statistics jokes What is a statistician’s favorite breakfast? How many statisticians needed to change a light bulb? Why did the statistician cross the road? Why did a statistician take a bomb on her flight? What are the last available graves at a cemetery?

the plan Importance Types and sources Examples Research Best practices Diversity connections Future directions, Q&A

general resources on humor Journals: Humor: International J. of Humor Research; The European J. of Humor Research; The Israeli J. of Humor Research Organizations/Conferences: Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor International Society for Humor Studies The Humor Project

SERIOUS potential benefits of humor in statistics (Lesser et al. 2013, citing Berk & Nanda, 1998, 2006; Garner, 2006; Neumann, Hood & Neumann, 2009) “experimental studies of the pedagogical impacts of humor have shown significant positive outcomes in student ratings of the lesson, student ratings of the instructor, student anxiety, student attitudes towards statistics, and student recall and retention of information”

GAISE mentions ‘fun’ Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education College Report Active learning activities “often engage students in learning and make the learning process fun” (p. 18) and “should be fun!” (p. 26)

research on fun is particularly important in statistics Statistics is offered in several departments and taken by students in many disciplines Statistics anxiety occurs across disciplines (e.g., in the humanities, social sciences, and in classes for pre-service elementary school teachers), and anxiety-reduction is one potential benefit of the use of fun items

canonical example of a “dread course”

Types of Fun Items adapted from Lesser & Pearl (2008), Lesser et al. (2013) Cartoons; Comic StripsGames (Commercial, Cultural, etc.) MagicQuotations Celebration DaysGame ShowsMedia Bloopers Strange News ClothingHumor/JokesMoviesStriking Examples FoodKinesthetic Activity Music, Raps, Songs Videos Fun books in content areaLiteraturePoemsWordplay

Some Sources of Fun Items in statistics….and beyond!

(since 1996)

free online stats games

4 of my “Media Clips” in MT

causeweb.org/resources/fun/ over 500+ items; part of NSF’s NSDL system

some Lesser songs (on CAUSEweb.org) TITLETOPIC Call Me It Maybevariation Meanmedian better than mean for data with skewness/outliers The Gamblerlottery literacy MLE Let it BeMLE properties Hit Me with Your Best Shot Plotgraphing Mexican Y Hat Danceline of fit (notation & process) Happy Birthday to You SongBirthday Problem One is the Loneliest Likeliest NumberBenford’s law 1 in 2equiprobability bias

considerations for course use of fun Lesser and Pearl (2008) Course goal/concept associated with item Where used (e.g., in class, on website) What to do/say/ask before using the fun item to “set it up” What to do/say/ask after using item

OUR RESEARCH (these items are all in the references/handout) 2008 review paper 2011 survey research published in 2013 Fall 2013 randomized experiment presented in 2014 eCOTS webinar

The USCOTS survey Survey (informed by literature on hesitations and motivations, as well as on completion inducements) at 2011 United States Conference on Teaching Statistics, where 249 (66%) of 380 attendees participated Post-USCOTS interviews needed to help contextualize and interpret survey data, especially given difficulties in defining fun

Lesser et al. (2013): (statistics) instructor motivations and hesitations * to understand better the current usage of fun in statistics education, including reasons why some instructors use or do not use modalities of fun in their courses * to examine if instructor’s gender, typical class size, institution type, and years of experience relate to motivations and/or hesitations for using fun in statistics teaching * to assess awareness of resources for finding statistics fun items

SURVEY 249 (66%) of 380 attendees participated at USCOTS 2011 Survey from the CAUSE Study of Fun Cluster Group Please respond to this anonymous survey as you reflect on the last time you taught an introductory statistics course. Put the completed survey in the box located on the registration table (on Thursday) or at USCOTS Central by 4:30 pm on Friday to receive a “Study of Fun” notepad. When you return your survey, you can also drop your raffle ticket in the bowl for a chance to win a Nook Color e-Reader. Stop by our table at the Posters and Beyond session on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and you can see the aggregate survey results and demonstrations of Statistics Fun! BACKGROUND INFORMATION (fill in the blank or check your responses) # of years teaching statistics ____typical class size ____ Gender: □ Male □ Female Institution: □ high school □ 2-yr college  □ 4-yr college  □ research institution  □ other USAGE Check each modality of fun that you have used in your statistics teaching: □ Poems/Songs  □ Cartoons  □ Games □ Jokes/Humor  □ Other:_____________ Check each modality of fun that you have NOT used, but are open to using  □ Poems/Songs  □ Cartoons  □ Games □ Jokes/Humor  □ Other:_____________ Check each modality of fun that you are not open to using:  □ Poems/Songs  □ Cartoons  □ Games □ Jokes/Humor  □ Other:_____________ MOTIVATIONS Which of the following are your main motivations for using (or considering the use of) fun in your statistics teaching? (check all that apply) □ increases student learning/retention □ reduces student anxiety □ helps my popularity/ratings with students □ builds classroom community □ makes teaching more enjoyable for me □ increases student engagement □ other (please specify):_______________________ HESITATIONS Which of the following are your main hesitations about using fun in your statistics teaching? (check all that apply) □ no skills/talent □ can’t quickly find good examples □ weak evidence of helping student learning □ uses too much class time □ need to be perceived as serious by students □ size of class □ need to be perceived as serious by colleagues/supervisor □ incompatibility with students’ cultures □ other(please specify):________________________ CAUSEWEB.ORG Have you used items from the “fun” resources collection at □ many times □ a few times □ once or twice □ no, but I’ve browsed □ no, and I haven’t browsed □ no, and I didn’t know about this collection I am open to being interviewed by phone about this topic □ no □ yes (print )______________ THANK YOU!

249 (66% of 380) USCOTS ‘11 attendees responded

Openness to using fun (N = 249 statistics instructors)

Motivations for using fun (N = 249 statistics instructors)

Hesitations for using fun (N = 249 statistics instructors) ?

but what about student learning?

a classroom study (VanVoorhis, 2002) 2 equal-GPA sections of stats Section R read 3 definitions aloud; Section S sang 3 stat jingles (for same concepts) S did better than R on relevant test items p <.05 S had high correlation between test score and self-rated jingle knowledge p <.05

“What p-Value Means” lyric © 2005 L. Lesser tune: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” It is key to know What p-value means – It’s the chance (with the null) you obtain data that’s At least that extreme!

Research Challenges controlled conditions in a live classroom replicable treatment without instructor effect needing special skill/talent SOLUTION: Insert fun item into context that can be otherwise electronically duplicated (e.g., Garner, 2006; Özdoğru & McMorris, 2013)

2 examples Garner (2006): N = 117 undergraduates review three 40- minute lecture videos (in "distance education format") on statistics research methods with or without humor(joke) inserts. Students randomized to the insert group recalled significantly more information and gave significantly higher ratings (each p <.001) in their opinion of the lesson, how well the lesson communicated information, and quality of the instructor. Özdoğru & McMorris (2013): N = 156 college students randomized to one of two forms with six 1-page textbook-style presentations; one form had cartoon insert in concepts #1,2,6 and the other in 3,4,5. Students reported favorable (p <.001) attitudes for cartoon inserts, but there was no effect on learning of concepts.

(urban) settings of Project UPLIFT’s student-randomized experiment Two-Year CollegeUniversity (medium-size) Region of U.S.SoutheastSouthwest Student populationmostly Blackmostly Hispanic Type of courseStatistical literacy Main audienceGeneral educationPre-service teachers TextSullivan (2014) Fundamentals of Statistics: Informed Decisions Using Data Utts (2005) Seeing Through Statistics LMS (Learning management system) Desire2LearnBlackboard

student-randomized experiment (fall 2013) (53 from comm. college; 194 from medium-sized university) All students asked to take pre (and post)tests: SATS (Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics), SAM (Statistics Anxiety Measure) Half of the students randomized to have “fun inserts” in content readings accessed via LMS All students take midterms/finals with embedded multiple-choice items related to the (12-14) content readings, such as:

LMS screenshot (Desire2Learn) of a mini-reading with fun item insert (half the students were randomized to receive the same reading without the insert)

QUESTION: Which of these modalities of fun would be most effective in increasing learning? A)Cartoons B)Poems C)Quotes D)Songs

% Correct with and without Song Inserts

QUESTION: Why do you think songs showed more effectiveness? A)Time with material B)Songs more engaging/active C)More impact on memory D)Other

Why did some fun items appear more effective than others? Spearman’s Rank Correlation of “Effectiveness” with “Activeness” from two independent raters: 0.61 and 0.66

QUESTION: What dimension of the Statistics Anxiety Measure(SAM) should be affected most by fun? A. Anxiety B.Attitude Towards Class C.Fearful Behavior D.Attitude Towards Math E.Performance

Post Course avg ± se SAM and Subscale Results (lower is better)

QUESTION: Which dimension of the Student Attitudes Toward Statistics(SATS) should be affected most by fun? A.Affect B.Cognitive C.Value D.Difficulty E.Interest

Post Course avg ± se SATS Subscale Results (higher is better)

Future Directions Increase sample size by having more universities Assess more items and modalities; Have follow-up interviews to focus specifically on why students found some items engaging and helpful and others not Due to the low response rate in completing the SATS and SAM inventories, online classes may result in a higher participation rate in a future study. Since attitudes are more difficult to change (ASA, 2012), future studies will focus on student anxiety.

Diversity connections to fun Fun affected by specific diversities of instructor and campus population Involves out-of-the-box alternative/diverse perspectives Ethical/respectful fun builds community by transcending labels that unduly separate us Avoid harmful stereotypes (e.g., my April 2014 Mathematics Teacher op-ed, inspired by ……

jokes from “An attractive female accountant…” “…A young nursing student in the front row sheepishly raised her hand and asked, “But sir, why do nurses have to take statistics?” “Young lady, statistics saves lives!...Statistics keeps idiots out of the nursing profession!”

Notes on best practices Low risk - high risk continuum (Berk) between and within modality types Ziv suggests 3-4 times per class period Recommendations for student-generated fun (vs. instructor-generated) Network of practitioners to pool ideas and add teacher-friendly scaffolding to existing items/collections (interested? me!)

Key References MY JOKES/STEREOTYPES OP-ED: April 2014 Mathematics Teacher, pp RESEARCH ON HUMOR/FUN IN STATISTICS: collection of 500+ items: Lesser, Pearl, Reyes, Weber (2014). causeweb.org/ecots/ecots14/32/causeweb.org/ecots/ecots14/32/ Lesser, Wall, Carver, Pearl, Martin, Kuiper, Posner, Erickson, Liao, Albert, Weber (2013). Using fun in the statistics classroom: An exploratory study of college instructors’ hesitations and motivations. Journal of Statistics Education, 21(1), (also, see causeweb.org/webinar/jse/ ) Lesser & Pearl (2008). Functional fun in statistics teaching: Resources, research, and recommendations. Journal of Statistics Education, 16(3), RESEARCH ON HUMOR IN EDUCATION: Banas, J. A., Dunbar, N., Rodriguez, D., & Liu, S.-J. (2011). A Review of Humor in Educational Settings: Four Decades of Research. Communication Education, 60(1), AN INSPIRATION FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Garner, R. L. (2006). Humor in pedagogy: How ha-ha can lead to aha! College Teaching, 54(1), INSTRUMENTS (SAM and SATS): Earp, M.A. (2007). Development and validation of the Statistics Anxiety Measure. University of Denver. Schau, C., Stevens, J., Dauphinee, T. L., & Del Vecchio, A. (1995). The development and validation of the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55(5),

thank you for attending Using ‘Fun’ in the Statistics Classroom: Research and Recommendations Larry Lesser The University of Texas at El Paso

Tips for a great conference! Rate this presentation on the conference app Download available presentation handouts from the Online Planner! Join the conversation! Tweet us using the hashtag #NCTMHouston

2012 Grammy-winning country song of the year

“Mean” (lyric © 2011 L. Lesser) But it can get pulled off by just one single point, And you don’t know what you don’t know…

“Mean” (lyric © 2011 L. Lesser) Sometimes, data have a real asymmetry Or values that are really quite extreme. In those cases, better use the median If what’s typical is what you need – That’s not gonna be the mean! That won’t be the mean with outliers, just forget it, do you see just what I mean & mean & mean & mean….

“Mean” (lyric © 2011 L. Lesser) Sometimes, data have a real asymmetry Or values that are really quite extreme. Yeah, yeah! In those cases, better use the median If the middle is what you need – Not gonna be the mean!

my contributions to stats fun include: 30+ items (songs, jokes, poems, etc.) in CAUSEweb.org fun resources collection fake study in fall 2012 Teaching Statistics articles in STATS(# 48,49), J. of Mathematics and the Arts, Model Assisted Statistics and Applications, J. of Irreproducible Results CAUSEweb webinar (2006) skit in Statistics Teacher Network no. 81 USCOTS, including concert at 2013 banquet Media Clips (comics) in Mathematics Teacher

Project UPLIFT: three urban settings Two-Year CollegeUniversity (medium-size)University (large) Region of U.S.SoutheastSouthwestMidwest Student population mostly Blackmostly Hispanicgeneral U.S. demographic Type of courseStatistical literacy Main audienceGeneral educationPre-service teachersArts and humanities TextSullivan (2014) Fundamentals of Statistics: Informed Decisions Using Data Utts (2005) Seeing Through Statistics Moore & Notz (2013) Statistics: Concepts & Controversies Learning management system (LMS) Desire2LearnBlackboardDesire2Learn Unit of randomization student item

item-randomized experiment (spring 2014) (≈ 1000 from larger university) Students take pre- and post- SATS; SAM; and START (Statistical Thinking and Reasoning Test) Students see 8 content items with each item randomized to include fun insert or not All students take midterm (3 items) and final (5 items) with embedded multiple-choice items related to the content readings

Qualitative Data (beyond scope of this 30-minute session) Spring 2013 case study: Extreme case sampling (fun-experienced instructor) at medium-sized university, using multiple data sources: field notes or transcripts from 5 observations; six 1-on-1 student interviews; end-of-course ratings and narrative comments from 21 students Fall 2013 data: eight 1-on-1 student interviews from two-year college