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Many university students taking a general education statistics course might be tempted to shirk attendance. But George Mason’s STAT 250: Introductory Statistics I boasts an impressive attendance rate of 80 percent across its sections. With between eight and ten sections per semester, the course is offered in-person and online both synchronously and asynchronously. It serves as one of the most popular quantitative reasoning courses in Mason Core, the university's general education program, with enrollments of nearly one thousand students per semester.
The course’s success can be attributed in part to Associate Professor Kenneth Strazzeri, the course coordinator. Strazzeri tweaks the curriculum each semester to optimize student engagement.
“I want students to succeed. That's been my number one goal since taking this type of role at Mason,” said Strazzeri. “When exposed to statistics again, I want them to think back and say, ‘Oh, I remember that. I took stat, and I had a good handle on these basic concepts.’”
Strazzeri’s rich background in statistics education makes him ideal for his role. He holds a PhD in mathematics education and an MS in statistics from the University of Virginia.
In STAT 250, Strazzeri focuses on increasing student engagement through various motivational strategies. Attendance bonuses and small incentives for completing course evaluations were introduced to encourage students to actively participate. Another key improvement was the restructuring of assignments. Previously, students were required to complete three major assignments, but these have now been split into six smaller assignments, a change that allows for more frequent feedback and helps students stay on track throughout the semester.
One course innovation that excites Strazzeri has been the introduction of simulation-based methods to teach statistical inference, a process used to draw conclusions about a population based on a sample of data taken from that population.
"We are teaching inference at an informal level first to then get to probability and modeling," Strazzeri explained.
This approach helps students grasp complex concepts related to statistical inference such as the interpretation of a confidence interval by using simulation methods such as bootstrapping—a technique used to estimate the variation of a sample statistic using only the original sample selected—at an informal level before delving into more formal methods.
Looking ahead, Strazzeri is excited about the future of STAT 250, particularly with the transition to the Canvas learning management system. He is working with Instructional Designer Abigail Smith in George Mason’s Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning to make the course even more interactive and user-friendly.
"The future of STAT 250 is bright because of the new design in Canvas," Strazzeri said. Their plans include embedding questions in instructional videos and using those questions live during in-person classes to enhance student interaction and understanding.
Overall, the efforts led by Kenneth Strazzeri have significantly improved the learning experience in STAT 250. By incorporating modern teaching methods, restructuring assignments, and increasing student engagement, the Department of Statistics is ensuring students not only succeed in the course but also develop a strong foundation in statistical concepts.