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Course Information
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What Can This Course Do for Students?
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This course will give students:
- An incredible boost to resumes or job-seeking portfolios – a comprehensive statistical research project demonstrating to employers strong work ethic and top quality work,
- Opportunities for developing leadership and interpersonal skills in a team environment, winning the heart of almost any employer,
- Practical experience with computer-based technologies, increasingly essential to compete in today’s marketplace,
- Problem-solving and critical thinking abilities that employers consider among the most important skills needed to succeed in the workplace, and
- An understanding of statistics and research that will allow students to critically assess and understand the world of data around them.
Source for what employers want: Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce (September 2006), pg. 9 and 42-43, The Conference Board, Inc., the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate Voices for Working Families, and the Society for Human Resource Management.
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Course Description:
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In this class, students will learn all about data: how to design data studies, how to collect data, and what to do with the data. Students will learn how to represent a set of possibly thousands of data values as one single number (e.g., mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation) so that others can have an instant idea about the data. Students will learn to create tables, charts, and graphs to give instant visual impressions of data. Students will learn how to make estimates and guesses for data not fully known, where they will survey only a few and yet make conclusions about many. Students will also learn to analyze two different sets of data (e.g., age and height of children) to prove whether or not these sets are associated.
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Student Learning Outcomes:
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Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Calculate and apply descriptive statistics to real world data.
- Understand and recognize misleading statistics.
- Calculate and analyze confidence intervals.
- Apply probability distribution methods.
- Evaluate studies using hypothesis testing methods.
- Calculate and apply regression models and correlation analysis.
- Effectively use appropriate technology in modeling and problem-solving.
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Prerequisites and Co-requisites:
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Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry or the equivalent
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Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
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Required Textbook & Courseware:
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The course software (courseware) containing all of the online homework and quiz assignments is located in KNEWTON alta, and you can either purchase directly ($10 per month!!!) or indirectly (using bookstore code) here: https://knerd.me/psxh3c.
Note: I recommend purchasing directly from Knewton (link above) if possible because the bookstore has a hefty overhead!
Introductory Statistics by Barbara Illowsky and Susan Dean via OpenStax is our free online textbook is available here, https://openstax.org/details/books/introductory-statistics.
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Other Required Supplementary Materials:
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- Minitab Statistical Software (Use on lab computers or download in D2L's Content, under the Minitab Module) Note: Don't download Minitab until after Project 1 is due to use the 30-day free trial.
- TI-83 or TI-84 calculator (We have loans for these on a first-come basis!)
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Hardware and Software Requirements:
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For this course, students are required to have extensive access to the following:
- A personal computer with either Microsoft or the Apple Mac operating systems,
- Highspeed internet connection, and
- The ability to install additional software or plug-ins, which our APSU at FC Building lab already has.
If you do not have these available currently, APSU may be able to provide loans. If requesting a laptop, please request Minitab and the Honorlock plugin be installed.
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E-Section Lab Materials:
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Students with uncompleted mathematical deficiencies as noted on the OneStop advising page need to be in the algebra lab portion of the course. James Sanders and his SLA leaders will provide additional materials and arrangements during the first meeting for the algebra lab, which immediately follows the statistics course. The e-section of algebra is a separate course as a bonus for a tiny additional fee. Students should treat the SLA lab as a separate course in terms of the hours required and studying.
Students registered for an e-section are required to attend the SLA Lab. The time and place for this lab appear in your APSU One-Stop schedule. These labs are part of the Tennessee Board of Regents approved learning support program. You will be given a list of lab requirements on the first day that you meet your lab. Failure to attend the lab or to meet the lab requirements may result in a grade of FA for the course.
Students enrolled in an e-section of a mathematics course have the opportunity to accomplish two goals: (1) complete the general education core requirement in mathematics; and (2) satisfy the TBR requirement to address mathematics deficiencies. The requirements for the removal of the mathematics deficiency will be stated in the SLA syllabus given to you on the first day that you meet your lab.
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Instructor Information
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Ellen Smyth
Instructor
Mathematics Department
Austin Peay State University at Ft Campbell
P.O. Box 4626
Clarksville, TN 37044
APSU at FC Building 203, Room 217
Phone: (931) 221-1443
Email: smythe@apsu.edu
Website: ellensmyth.com
Office Hours:
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| Mondays - Fridays |
By appointment - Message me in Remind with any questions at any time, even weekends, though I respond faster through the week. If we need to talk over the phone or web conferencing, we can. Just tell me some good times to reach you. |
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Assessment and Grading
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Each student's overall percentage grade will be based on the activities outlined below. Please consult the schedule below for specific deadline dates.
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Activity
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Percentage
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Discussions
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10
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Knewton Homework
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25
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Knewton Quizzes
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5
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Data & Statistics Group Projects (3)
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10
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Midterm Exam
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20
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Final Exam
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30
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Total
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100
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Weighted Overall Percentages
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Letter Grade
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At least 90.0%
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A
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At least 80.0%
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B
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At least 70.0%
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C
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At least 60.0%
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D
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Anything less than 60.0%
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F
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A midterm grade shall be awarded for all students in this course. The grade awarded may not be based on half of the course requirements and may not be the same as the final grade. Your midterm grade will be posted on AP Self Service.
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Assignments
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- Online Knewton Homework - Homework assignments covering each chapter should be completed to 100% mastery through Knewton by the due date listed in the schedule at the top of this syllabus.
- Online Knewton Quizzes - One Knewton quiz for each chapter will be given. Quizzes are open-book and open-class-notes but not open-neighbor. Quizzes are expected to be the sole work of the student taking the quiz.
- D2L Discussion Assignments - For each chapter and as an introduction, students will complete discussion assignments in D2L following explicitly the rubric for posting and reading and addressing all aspects of the topic described in the discussion. For chapter discussions, the very first time a student hits post is what will be graded, so students should be especially careful to address every aspect of the topic thoroughly, clearly, accurately, and with proper capitalization, spelling, and grammar.
- Data & Statistics Group Projects - Students will be acting in a group as real-life junior statisticians by experiencing the process of a real-world statistical project from start to finish. The overarching project is divided among three smaller projects: one on data gathering and two on data reporting and analyses using Minitab. (Similar to Excel, Minitab is a statistical software.) Each group member is not only responsible for his or her assigned portion of the project but for the entire project itself. Each group member should, at least one day before the project due date, make sure that the submitted project file(s) in the project dropbox(es) are complete and accurate according to the rubric for that project. Group projects not submitted to appropriate dropboxes by the due date will result in group grades of zero.
- Midterm and Final Exams - Midterm exams will be covering Chapters 1 through 4 and 6, and the comprehensive final exam will be covering Chapters 1 through 4, 6 through 9, and 12.
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Course Ground Rules
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Students are responsible for learning the technical aspects of this course, including how to navigate Desire2Learn, Knewton, Minitab, and other technical aspects of online courses, asking questions and seeking help as needed 1) by contacting Knewton Tech Support (212-563-9866), 2) by contacting the Austin Peay help desk (931-221-HELP), and 3) by contacting the instructor. Students are expected to address technical problems immediately, before due dates.
Due dates for all assignments can be found in this syllabus above. Students will complete and submit all graded items by the due date to earn credit. Students will read and respond to D2L group discussions frequently, especially as due dates approach.
Student dedication to the course will tremendously influence grades. Students who pass the course will dedicate 20 hours, on average, a week to this course in total, with the first week or two being much more intense but then slowing down. The majority of students who do not dedicate close to 20 hours outside class each week do not pass the course. On the other hand, the vast majority of students who do spend 20 hours each week while completing all assignments sincerely, honestly, on time, and while paying close attention to every detail of the instructions will earn Bs and Cs. If a student earns an A in this course, he or she is all sorts of awesome!
Note that this 20 hours each week does not include e-section work, where those in Section W1E will spend additional time working on algebra lab homework with their SLA leader. Please message me to ask if you are unsure you're in the e-section.
All work must be completed by the student who submitted the work for credit. If any work is submitted by a student that was completed by someone other than that student, that student risks failing the course and being removed from the university, according to university policies. Students may ask other students, tutors, and the instructor questions about Knewton homework, group projects, and paired activities. Questions on all other assignments (especially exams, quizzes, and first posts in chapter discussions) may only be asked of the instructor.
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Expected Course Conduct
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Students are expected to:
- Be respectful,
- Work hard,
- Check Remind messages daily and check email, D2L news, and D2L discussions every 2 to 3 days.
- Work especially hard on group projects, and stay in frequent communication via group discussions and texting,
- Use Standard English including proper spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation, and
- Read and follow the "Code of Student Conduct" in the Student Handbook.
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Students with Disabilities
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Austin Peay State University abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which stipulates that no student shall be denied the benefits of an education "solely by reason of a handicap." Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities and hearing, sight, or mobility impairments. If I have a documented disability that may have some impact on my work in this class and for which I may require reasonable accommodations, I should immediately communicate with the instructor and with Disabilities Services in Clement 140, 221-6230 or 221-6278 (V/TTY), so that such reasonable accommodations may be arranged.
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Syllabus Changes
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The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes in class, in D2L, or by email.
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Syllabus Supplement
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This PDF section of the syllabus can be found in D2L under Getting Started immediately after this syllabus and includes verbatim what the University requires each instructor to add.
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