Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.

com/abstract=2259320

Online Learning in Practice: An Introduction to Statistics Course



Hershey H. Friedman
School of Business
Brooklyn College, CUNY

Linda W. Friedman
Department of Statistics & Computer Information Systems
Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, CUNY



ABSTRACT

Recently, online learning has generated a great deal of interest. The offering of MOOCs for interested
students and for possible college credit has stimulated a lot of animated discussion, in both online and
face-to-face modalities. Here we introduce and share with interested colleagues course materials for
the standard introduction to statistics course. Our purpose is to provide needed course material for
instructors teaching an introductory course in statistics. In fact, this material may be used as-is or topic-
by-topic in a fully online course or a hybrid (blended) course. The course materials include course
notes, narrated slideshow lectures, virtual handouts, homework assignments and solutions. Suggested
course outlines are included in this document.

KEYWORDS: online education, statistics education, , hybrid courses, MOOC.


Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2259320
Online Learning in Practice: An Introduction to Statistics Course



INTRODUCTION

Over that past several years there has been a great deal of interest in online education. The offering of
MOOCs (massive open online courses) for interested students and for possible college credit has
stimulated a lot of very enthusiastic discussions, in both online and face-to-face (FTF) forums. Here we
introduce and share with interested colleagues course materials for the standard introduction to
statistics course. Our purpose is to provide the necessary course material for instructors teaching an
introductory course in statistics. This material may be used in its entirety or topic-by-topic in a fully
online course or a hybrid (blended online and FTF) course. The course materials include course notes,
narrated slideshow lectures, virtual handouts, homework assignments and solutions. Suggested course
outline follows.

TOPICS

Topics covered include the following:

Introduction
Descriptive Statistics
Introduction to Probability
Probability Distributions
Binomial Distribution
Normal Distribution
Sampling Distributions
Statistical Inference
Introduction to Statistical Inference
Estimation
Hypothesis Testing - Z tests
The t Distribution
Inferences about the Proportion
Determining Sample Size
Two-sample Z test for the mean
Two-sample t test for the mean
Two-sample Z test for the proportion
Chi-Square Tests
Introduction to Correlation
Simple Linear Regression


COURSE MATERIALS

Each topic has associated with it a set of lecture notes in Adobe pdf format; a lecture in the form of a
narrated slideshow created by MS Powerpoint; homework problems and solutions, each in an Adobe pdf
file. Most topics also have associated handouts, materials that are taken from or complement the
lectures. The set of virtual handouts includes simple step-by-step guides to completing homework
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assignments using MS Excel. Several practice exams, with solutions provided, complete the online
package.

The notes may be used in lieu of a textbook. The lectures, MS Powerpoint slides with audio narration,
are useful for students who want a lecture to supplement the notes. These lectures simulate what
happens in a real classroom, except that you see only the slides not the instructors.

All course materials are posted and maintained on a Google Site, open for viewing to all. The site is at:
https://sites.google.com/site/proffriedmanstat/


USING THIS COURSE

One way to use these course materials is, of course, as a completely online course. The site may be
used by individuals to study statistics for the first time, or to brush up on the intro stat course in
preparation for more advanced work.

Another way is to use the online materials as the lecture portion of a hybrid lecture/recitation course.
The FTF meetings, then will be used for problem sessions, reviews, and in-class quizzes and exams. For
example, in a typical 15-week semester, the following suggested lecture topics and FTF meetings may be
conducted:

WEEK TOPIC: Read Notes and View Lectures BEFORE CLASS WHAT WE WILL DO THIS CLASS
1 Introduction to Statistics Welcome: Intro to the class
2 Descriptive Statistics Problem Session
3 Basic Probability Problem Session
4 Probability Distributions; Normal Distribution Problem Session
5 Sampling Distributions Review for Exam 1
6 Study for Exam 1 EXAM #1
7 Statistical Inference, ; Estimation & Hypothesis Testing Problem Session
8 Student's t Distribution QUIZ; Problem Session
9 Inferences about the Proportion Problem Session
10 Two-Sample Tests Review for Exam #2
11 Study for Exam 2 EXAM #2
12 Correlation; Simple Linear Regression Problem Session; Review for Exam
13 Study for Exam 3 EXAM #3
14 Chi-square tests Review for Final Exam
15 Study for Final Exam Final Exam


The authors are separately on the Business faculties of large urban public universities. They have used
these materials in a variety of class formats at their respective institutions and encourage all interested
students and teachers at all levels of education to use this site.

The authors welcome all comments and suggestions to x.friedman@att.net or
proffriedman@gmail.com.
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