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Teaching an Undergraduate Capstone Course in Statistical Consulting Heather S. Smith: hsmith@calpoly.edu John H. Walker: jwalker@calpoly.edu Department of Statistics Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Joint Statistical Meetings, Seattle WA, 2006
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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
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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
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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
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Cal Poly Consulting Course5 Who are the students? Typically, 12-14 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
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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)
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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 15-20 min. Consultants gather project details for the rest of the class Week 1, Class 2: Technical Quiz 15-30 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
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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
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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
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Cal Poly Consulting Course10 Graph Referenced in Consulting Session
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