ERIC Number: EJ850653
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Jul
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1069-1898
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Traditional versus Non-traditional Teaching: Perspectives of Students in Introductory Statistics Classes
Johnson, H. Dean; Dasgupta, Nairanjana
Journal of Statistics Education, v13 n2 Jul 2005
Although there has been a considerable amount of work evaluating the effects of different (non-traditional) instructional styles, inquiries into students' preferences of instructional style have been few. From 1998-2001, we surveyed introductory statistics students regarding various aspects of their class preferences, especially the teaching style they prefer. We analyzed the data for the purpose of seeing if there has been an increasing trend in preference towards non-traditional methods. Our results are inconclusive (p = 0.35) about the presence of such a trend. However, the overall proportion of students preferring non-traditional classes is higher than students preferring traditional classes (p less than 0.001). We also used the survey data to investigate the possible attributes that relate to preference. Using Stepwise Logistic regression (with = 0.10) we find that the students' ideal class-size, the number of years since they graduated from high school, the perceived learning styles of the students, and the attitudes of students towards the use of visual aids and hands-on activities are all significantly related to the teaching style preferences of students. (Contains 6 tables.)
Descriptors: Statistics, Introductory Courses, Teaching Styles, Lecture Method, Nontraditional Education, Teaching Methods, Educational Trends, Educational Research, Regression (Statistics), Class Size, Educational Attainment, Cognitive Style, Student Attitudes, Experiential Learning, Visual Aids
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A