1. Giving Psychology Students Independence and Empowerment in a Statistics Module
Roger Watt, Elizabeth Collins, Carole Harmon, Francesca Worsnop
Psychology, Natural Sciences, University of Stirling
Enhancement Themes conference, Thursday 9 June John McIntyre Conference Centre, Edinburgh

2. A Micro-study of Transition out of University via Developing Independence
In Stirling Psychology
The final year undergraduate programme is engineered as a tool to develop independence
It was awarded the inaugural British Psychological Society Prize for Innovation in Academic Programmes

3. Developing Independence
Independence is based on Confidence
Confidence is based on owned Success
Owned Success depends on +ve Feedback
- the student experience
+ve Feedback
Predictable
Random
low uncertainty
high uncertainty
Self-efficacy
Learned helplessness

4. Teaching Examining Grades The traditional process Staff Student
Learning
Examining
Student reality
We don’t feel any space or time to do and reflect.
We become obsessed with grades.
Personal Reflection
Grades
Staff Feedback

5. Teaching Examining Grades The traditional process owned Success
Staff
Student
Teaching
Learning
owned Success
→ emulate teacher
Examining
Student reality
We don’t feel any space or time to do and reflect.
We become obsessed with grades.
Personal Reflection
Grades
Staff Feedback

6. The active student learner
Peer Feedback
Staff Feedback
Learning
Doing
Thinking
Outcome
Personal Reflection
Starting
Grades
Staff
Student
The active student learner

7. The active student learner
Peer Feedback
Staff Feedback
Learning
Doing
Thinking
Outcome
Personal Reflection
Starting
Grades
Staff
Student
The active student learner
owned Success
→ self-monitoring

8. The active student learner
Peer Feedback
Staff Feedback
Learning
Doing
Thinking
Outcome
Personal Reflection
Starting
Grades
Staff
Student
The active student learner
owned Success
→ self-monitoring

9. The active student learner
Peer Feedback
Staff Feedback
Learning
Doing
Thinking
Outcome
Personal Reflection
Starting
Grades
Staff
Student
The active student learner
owned Success
→ self-monitoring
Is my behaviour being reinforced?
+ve feedback: I can do this Learning to succeed.
-ve feedback: I cannot do this. Learning to fail.

10. Learning to succeed or learning to fail? the psychological process
Time →

11. Learning to succeed or learning to fail? the student experience
Time →

12. A Micro-study of Transition out of University via Developing Independence
In Stirling Psychology
The final year programme is engineered as a tool to develop independence

13. A Micro-study of Transition out of University via Developing Independence
In Stirling Psychology
The final year programme is engineered as a tool to develop independence
but
Statistics is frequently the most disempowering element of a Psychology degree
And it can therefore place a real limit on independence

14. Statistics: traditionally disempowering
1). Disjointed Although a mathematically minded student may see the patterns that lie behind the formulae etc, Psychology students do not.
2). Error-prone In SPSS, there is 1 million sequences of actions you can make, and only one of them is correct. SPSS rarely warns you.
3). Authoritarian There appears to be no room for critical thinking or creativity
If learning is about mastering, then this makes for a lost cause.

15. BrawStats: designed to be empowering
1). Unified All the minutiae of statistics are completely hidden. Users interact with the same system regardless of incidental details of data form etc.
2). Error-proof In BrawStats there is still many sequences of actions, but they are all entirely valid.
3). Facilitative BrawStats facilitates students learning by experiment. They can be as critical as they wish – at the level of statistics as a system of evaluating results.

16. BrawStats demo here

17. A Micro-study of Transition out of University via Developing Independence
Principles
BrawStats guarantees +ve feedback
BrawStats offers owned Success
Results
BrawStats generates enthusiasm
BrawStats generates competence
BrawStats generates understanding
but
Different starting point from trad statistics
It doesn’t quickly undo earlier learning of failure
It is open, unstructured and rewards independence rather than obedience