Dr Richard Cook / HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh 2014 A N O N -L INE T OOLKIT FOR T EACHING S TATISTICS TO B IOSCIENCE S TUDENTS Dr Richard Cook School of Life Sciences Kingston University London Project funded by an HEA Teaching Development Grant GENTDG147

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 The Problem  Bioscience students don’t like statistics!  Statistics is an essential skill for bioscientists!  Often large numbers – statistics taught as ‘separate subject’  RELEVANCE?

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 The Problem  Even if taught statistics, students often forget later when they need to use it (project!)  When they have their own data, difficult to decide which statistical tests to use

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 My Solution!  Guide to select appropriate statistical tests  Web-based with videos for SPSS  Lots of subject-relevant examples  Flexible, interactive learning and revision aid – encourage independent learning & practice  On-line software:  Keep control: update & develop easily  Xerte Toolkit: University of Nottingham Flexible on-line template for interactive, web-based teaching materials

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 AIMS  Teach biostatistics as a tool – keep it simple  ‘Decision tree’ guide: o Help understand context of each test o Help decide which test to use  Use of animated videos - how to use SPSS and understand output  Subject-relevant example data with MCQs o Relevance o Practice

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Intended Purpose  A teaching resource to support lectures and learning NOT a replacement for lectures/books  A revision aid: A resource for students to re-visit when they need it

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Availability  Available as an Open Educational Resource  Address: biostatistics-toolkit biostatistics-toolkit  Creative Commons License: Allows sharing: can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 The Biostatistics Toolkit  Introduction shows (videos): the SPSS environment entering data and getting output (results) in SPSS obtaining descriptive (summary statistics)  Rest of Toolkit is based on simple questions and decision tree to lead to correct test

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 First Questions: 1.Type of Data

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 First Questions: 2.Type of question

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 The Decision Tree

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Decision Tree: next step

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Video for each test A video for every test shows how to do this in SPSS and what the output means

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Sample data sets for each test

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Use at Kingston University London (Level 5)  Aim to encourage independent & student-led learning  Brief 1-hour lecture each week to introduce background & purpose of selected tests; given problems to solve  Use Toolkit to select test and watch video to solve problem in SPSS – can do any time  Computer workshops for help with problems  Apply statistics to numerical data from lab classes on any module (integration of statistics to subject)  Revision – use example data from Toolkit

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Initial Conclusions & Feedback from Students (n=56)  Don’t expect all students to be able to watch a video and apply it to a problem!  Some resistance to independent learning – still want contact and instruction  Many students need further help to develop confidence  Still an inherent resistance by many students to statistics  Nevertheless, intitial feedback indicates the Toolkit is helpful

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Was the toolkit useful in explaining how to carry out a statistical test in SPSS? Almost 90 % found it Quite/Very Useful

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Does the toolkit improve your confidence in using statistics to analyse data? 100% said it developed confidence – at least a little!

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Will you use the toolkit to carry out statistical analyses in SPSS in future (eg final year project)? 96% said Yes/Possibly

Dr Richard Cook | HEA STEM Conference Edinburgh | 2014 Further Conclusions  Lack of confidence: students need encouragement & support  Help needed to interpret results of statistics in relation to the biological context  Overall, toolkit well accepted by the students  Anticipate that benefit will become more apparent to students during final year Thank you for listening!