Statistics
Instructor: Chris Olsen
Chris taught statistics at George Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, IA, for over 25 years, and AP Statistics from its inception until 2005, when he passed
the baton. After spending three years working as the Math Assessment Facilitator in the Research Dept in Cedar Rapids, he has returned to teaching and is now a professor at Grinnell College in Grinnell,
IA, teaching elementary statistics, calculus, and experimental design classes.
He has been involved nationally in workshops and conferences mostly relating to statistics for over 30 years. He has reviewed materials for The Mathematics teacher, the AP Central
web site, The American Statistician, and the Journal of the American Statistical Association, and currently writes a column for STATS magazine. He is a co-author, with
Roxy Peck and Jay Devore, of the Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis (POD). He authored or edited the Teacher's Guide for Advanced Placement Statistics three Special Topics sections
in AP Statistics summer workshop materials.
He is a past member (twice) of the AP Statistics Test Development Committee, and has served as a table leader and question leader for the AP Statistics exam for 11 years. Current projects
involve working on the 4th edition of POD, writing a book on using JMP software in teaching statistics, and serving on the editorial board of Teaching Statistics. You can email Chris at
colsen@mchsi.com
2012 Session Outline
Course Description: We will consider the four major content themes of AP Statistics: exploratory data analysis, planning and executing statistical studies, probability
and random variables, and statistical inference. We will stress the use of technology and during the course of the week. Our goal will be to expand your knowledge base with some in-depth
discussions of the AP Statistics topics to help with those tough questions your students are sure to ask. Generally, we will consider: the philosophy of the course, the statistical techniques needed,
and communication as an essential part of "doing statistics." I will be bringing a large amount of AP Statistics material (information, data, activities, tests & quizzes, bibliographies, PowerPoints,
etc.) The general sequence of statistical topics follows:
Day 1: Our first day will be a plunge into the analysis of data. We will analyze data sets designed to highlight the important descriptive and inferential techniques, univariate and bivariate,
in the AP Statistics course. The data sets are long on interest, and can be taken right into the classroom.
Day 2: Our second day will be a tour of Experimental Design (completely randomized design and randomized block design) and Sampling techniques (simple, stratified, cluster, systematic). We
will focus on the decisions involved in choosing an experimental design strategy, methods of control of potentially confounding variables, and what factors would lead one to particular choices of
an appropriate sampling design.
Day 3/4: Our third and fourth days will focus on probability and random variables, and their role in statistical inference. We will explore the logic of statistical inference (hypothesis testing
and confidence intervals). Then we will show how this logic threads its way through inferences about means, proportions, slopes in regression, and inferences about categorical data. Interspersed
with the content described above we will consider the philosophy of the AP Statistics course as an active encounter with data, and how this affects teaching strategies. Come armed and ready to get
out of your seats! The structure and content of the AP syllabus will be examined, and of course the preparation of students for the AP Statistics Exam will be a continuing concern.
What to bring: Please bring the following items when you come:
- Your calculator
- A 2G flash drive to take home lots of stuff
- Favorite scribbles or activities to share (preferably electronically)
- Lots of questions about content and teaching strategies
- A cheerful smile
