Course Overview and Policies

Description

Statistics is the science of collecting, organizing, analyzing, and presenting data. Statistics are employed across a variety of fields, such as education, business, healthcare, natural sciences, and engineering. In this class students will learn the mathematical foundations of statistics including data collection and summarization, descriptive or exploratory methods of analysis, and inferential methods of analysis.

Learning Outcomes

• Appropriately collect samples of data from a population.
• Describe sample data and make comparisons using appropriate graphics and analytic methods.
• Make inferences from sample data using appropriate analytic methods.
• Explain to a broad audience the outcome of a statistical analysis.

Textbook

The textbook for this class is OpenIntro Statistics, Fourth Edition. It can be downloaded for free through OpenIntro: https://www.openintro.org/. [To download, click "Statistics", in the table select "OpenIntro Statistics". On the next page, under "Getting Started", select "FREE -- OpenIntro Statistics PDF". From this page select the amount you are able to pay ($0 is perfectly fine!) and then purchase.]

Assignments

All assignments will be submitted through PLATO.

There are a variety of assignments in this class: Homeworks, Mini-Projects, and a Final Project. The purpose of this is provide as many ways as possible for students to demonstrate mastery of material.

Homeworks

Homework is a chance for students to practice material covered in lecture. Homework grades will be largely effort based, and students will be asked to reflect on their learning.

Mini-Projects

At the end of each segment of this course we will have two days dedicated to review and practice of material covered. These days will include mini-projects that students will work on in and outside of class. Mini-projects are an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of material and apply classroom learning to areas of interest.

Final Projects

Final projects present the opportunity for students to apply the techniques covered in class to a topic of interest to them. This assignment will be completed in groups. Grading will look at methods, creativity, and communication.

Late Policy

All assignments are due as listed on the Course Schedule. There is a 24 hour gace period for late submissions, however you must be in class that day (or excused beforehand) and after the grace period late assignments will not be accepted.

If you have extenuating circumstances and need a more significant extension that is okay, however it is your responsibility to email Ab BEFORE the assignment is due to make arrangements.

Your lowest homework grade will be dropped.

Regrades

There will be no regrades on assignments. However, if you are unhappy with a grade on an assignment you may re-do the portions you did not do well on and resubmit the assignment. The rules for resubmitting assignments are as follows:

• You may not resubmitt and assignment on which you received a 0.
• Your resubmission must note where changes were made and explain how the changes address the feedback you received on your first submission.
• Your resubmission must include a thoughtful paragraph explaining what you learned from re-doing your assignment and how you will incorporate those lessons into future assignments.
• You may only resubmit within 2 weeks of receiving a grade on an assignment.

Final Grades

Your grade will be a weighted average between your homeworks, mini-projects, and final project.

We will round decimals to the nearest whole number and assign letter grades as follows:

Classroom Conduct

All students and teaching staff are expected to treat each other with kindness and consideration. Equity and inclusivity are priorities in this class, and centering those systematically marginalized in higher ed and STEM will be a priority. If you have any requests or feedback, please reach out to Ab.

Academic Integrity

While students are encouraged to discuss course materials, no plagiarism/copying is allowed. In particular:

• You may not copy anyone else's text, source code, images, videos, visualization designs, or slides under any circumstances. This includes online sources.
• You may not permit any other student to see any part of your program or writing assignment.
• You may not permit yourself to see any part of another student's program or writing assignment.

You may consult online resources as part of your coursework, but you may not copy code from online sources. If you get an idea of how to solve a problem from an online source, include a citation in a code block at the top of your script. Ex.:

You do not need to include a similar notation if you consulted with a classmate; we expect that. Just don't share code.

ChatGPT may by used as a spelling/grammar checker (with citation), but may not be used to perform the intellectual tasks required to complete an assignment. In other words, your writing and code must be your own, not generated by ChatGPT.

If you have a question about what is considered a violation of this policy, please ask!

You can find the university's academic integrity policy here: https://catalog.westfield.ma.edu/content.php?catoid=35&navoid=1642.

Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities who wish to receive academic services and/or accommodations should contact Disability Services. If you have already done so, please provide your letter for accommodations to Ab early in the semester so they can arrange those accommodations.

A note to all students

I (Ab) am here to support you. If at any point in the semester you realize there is something I could do to better support you, please reach out. This can be something as small as letting me know I am not making the font big enough on my presentations, to sharing that you need some help getting caught up after a hard day or week.

Please be respectful of your classmates and instructor's wellbeing. You should not come to class if you are not feeling well. This includes COVID symptoms, and symptoms of non-COVID illnesses. If you need to miss class, I will work with you to stay caught up.