1122 Educational Statistics (I)

This course seeks to introduce the language, logic and methods of statistics. Although this course will focus on understanding the role of statistics in educational settings, its importance and application in everyday life will also be emphasized in class discussions. Specifically, this course will begin with a discussion of descriptive statistics, including mean, median, standard deviation, and graphs. Then, we will move toward ways to explain the relationship between sets of data, such as correlations. The remainder of the course will introduce concepts of probability and how these concepts allow us to make statistical decisions (e.g., to determine whether variations among individuals are due to “real differences” or “chance occurrences”). The logic of these concepts is extremely important in that it forms the basis of inferential statistics. In this course, we will learn the fundamental assumptions, logic, and math of statistics by hand calculation (of course using calculators). By doing so, you will be able to more accurately choose which data and statistical model to use in educational research, and more appropriately utilize statistical software for data analysis in the future. By the end of this course, you will be familiar with different forms of statistical distribution. These statistical tests are crucial for the understanding of more sophistical statistical procedures you are likely to encounter in advanced courses and future studies.