This course introduces statistical techniques including descriptive statistics, correlation, simple regression and hypothesis testing.
Reflection
I struggled with this class more than any other in the program. There were a lot of things that could have been challenging about this course: the math, the large amount of content in such a short time, the fact that I have not been in a math class since my freshman year of undergraduate work over 15 year ago. None of those are the reasons I struggled, however. I struggled with this class because of the way it was presented. In order for me to understand content, I must be able to connect it to the real world. This course never gave me the opportunity to do that. I spent countless hours working through the homework modules with my trusty TI-83 until I had a 100% on every single assignment. I made study notes for every exam and spent at least four hours taking each one, triple checking to ensure all my answers were correct. However, of all the courses I experienced throughout my program of study, I feel like I gained the least from this one. I recognize the importance of statistics as they relate to educational research. I understand the role they play in the betterment of the field of education and the continual improvement of educational practices. However, the rigid format of this class inhibited my ability to make the connections between what I was learning and finding examples of those types of data gathering and statistics in educational research.
On a positive note, this course gave me the opportunity to reflect on what I learned from Technology to Enhance Learning. In order for students to have an authentic learning experience, the content must have real world connections so they feel invested and find value in the content. Introduction to Applied Statistics was a wonderful example of why real world connections are so important.