Teaching an Undergraduate Capstone Course in Statistical Consulting Heather S. Smith: John H. Walker: Department of Statistics Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Joint Statistical Meetings, Seattle WA, 2006

Cal Poly Consulting Course2 Outline Motivation for the course About the course A sample consulting project Video and commentary from  An initial consulting session  A follow-up consulting session

Cal Poly Consulting Course3 Motivation for the course To be effectively prepared, students’ need: Instruction in statistical communication and consulting A blending of the theoretical and the practical aspects consulting Opportunities to develop consulting skills

Cal Poly Consulting Course4 Learning Objectives Students’ learn how to: Conduct effective consulting sessions Work collaboratively to address client needs Apply (and build on) their statistical knowledge Present oral arguments and written reports Utilize professional publications in statistics

Cal Poly Consulting Course5 Who are the students? Typically, statistics majors Graduating soon All have completed courses in:  Regression  ANOVA/DOE  SAS (data management and procs)  Probability and inference theory Some have completed courses in:  Survey research  Time series  Multivariate  Categorical data analysis  S-plus

Cal Poly Consulting Course6 Course Design Ten week quarter, team-taught Two two-hour classes per week in a technology classroom Lectures on consulting strategies and technical topics Three team-based consulting projects One individual final consulting project Midterm and final written exams Additional Assignments  A pretest  Reading assignments Derr, J. (2000) Statistical Consulting: A Guide to Effective Communication. Articles about statistical consulting (Zahn and others)

Cal Poly Consulting Course7 Anatomy of a Consulting Project Team projects follow a two-week schedule Week 1, Class 1: Introductory Consulting Session  Brief description of the client prior to the session  Four student consultants meet with the client for min.  Consultants gather project details for the rest of the class Week 1, Class 2: Technical Quiz  min. individual quiz covering technical issues  Class discussion of technical issues  Assignment of project teams (3-4 students each) Week 2, Class 2: Follow-up Consulting Session  One student per team is selected to consult  15 min. consulting session to present and discuss results  Teams produce a consulting memo and a technical report

Cal Poly Consulting Course8 More on Consulting Projects Client types  Course instructors role playing clients  Other professional statisticians role playing clients  Real clients All sessions video-recorded for later review and discussion Feedback  Review of consulting memos and technical reports  Introductory session videos reviewed in class  Follow-up session videos reviewed one-on-one and in class  All video available on secure class web page Team grade for reports; individual grade for session

Cal Poly Consulting Course9 Sample Consulting Project: “SAES Pure Gas” Client: An engineer at a company that produces purified gases for industry Project goals: 1.Design a study to determine which machine settings maximize the removal of methane from nitrogen gas 2.Analyze the data and report the findings from the resulting study The variables  Response: Methane removed (ppb)  Predictors: Temperature, Flow rate, Time Project video  Introductory session  Follow-up session

Cal Poly Consulting Course10 Graph Referenced in Consulting Session