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The Center for the Teaching of Statistics seeks to provide a model for Statistics education in the Southern California region by integrating research in Statistics and Pedagogy with technological innovations. We intend to serve as a resource for not just UCLA but the Southern California statistics community and, to the extent possible, to the Statistics community in general. We have formed some collaborative partnerships with AP Statistics educators, and plan to form future partnerships with educators in K-12, community colleges, and local colleges and universities. We will grow as resources and interest permits, but are already engaged in a number of activities concerning introductory Statistics teaching, AP Statistics, and technology in the classroom.
Analyze, Visualize, Summarize, Synthesize.
What can you do with a large, complex data set, free reign to merge with any other relevant data, a computer, 48 hours and a few friends? Impress our VIP guest clients and win!! Teams with original beautiful, surprising, interesting, thought-provoking responses will be awarded fabulous prizes.
May 6-8, 2011
To register, find possible teammates, and learn about new developments, visit:
https://ccle.ucla.edu/course/view/DataFest
BOL account and enrollment key are required to enter site. Enrollment key is available from Rob Gould at rgould@stat.ucla.edu. To enroll, click on the Enroll me in this course link.
Eligibility: All undergraduate UCLA students. Each team must have at least one statistics major or minor. Teams may have no more than 5 members. We suggest every team have at least one person who is good at "data wrangling".
Date Posted: 2011-04-13, 00:00:00
The instructional work of Dr. Mahtash Esfandiari incorporating a blend of in-class instruction and Moodle's Quiz Tool has been cited in UCLA's 2009 WASC[1] (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) reaccreditation review.
Dr. Esfandiari's work is cited as part of UCLA's third accreditation phase in the report "Educational Effectiveness Review"[3]. The history, description, and results of Dr. Esfandiari's experiment are given in essay D of the report[4]. Some of the highlights of the essay:
About WASC
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is one of the six regional accrediting associations in the United States. WASC was formed on July 1, 1962, to evaluate and accredit schools, colleges, and universities in California, Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. WASC functions through a board of directors and three accrediting commissions: the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, and the Accrediting Commission for Schools. The board of directors consists of nine members, with each accrediting commission electing three members.
Each commission, with the involvement of all participating institutions, develops its own standards, proce- dures, and fiscal policies, under the authority and subject to the approval of the WASC board of directors. The accreditation actions of each commission are certified annually by the board of directors of WASC. Accredi- tation ceases whenever an institution fails to pay its annual fees, requests in writing that its accreditation be withdrawn, or when the Commission formally acts to terminate accreditation.
About WASC Accreditation
"UCLA aims to use the reaccreditation process to highlight and enhance ongoing efforts to improve our educational effectiveness. An effective process requires a high level of cooperation and collaboration among students, faculty, and administrators. Together, we engage in reflection and self-study, and then apply the insights gained to refining our goals and strengthening our programs. A variety of qualitative and quantitative data inform these endeavors."[2]
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is the regional organization that provides umbrella accreditation for UCLA as a whole, through its Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities. This site displays the plans, processes, data, analyses and reports associated with UCLA's reaccreditation by WASC.
To become or remain accredited, institutions must meet WASC Standards and satisfy WASC Criteria for Review. Accreditation confers a variety of benefits, especially the right to administer federal financial aid. The accreditation process is described in detail in WASC's Handbook of Accreditation. The Policies Manual provides additional information.
[1] http://www.wascsenior.org/
[2] http://www.wasc.ucla.edu/approach.shtml
[3] http://www.wasc.ucla.edu/2009effectiveness.shtml
[4] http://www.wasc.ucla.edu/EER_EssayD.pdf
Date Posted: 2010-01-27, 05:41:00
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A paper by Ivo D. Dinov, Nicolas Christou, and Juana Sanchez entitled "Central Limit Theorem: New SOCR Applet and Demonstration Activity" is now available.
Journal of Statistics Education Volume 16, Number 2 (2008)
Date Posted: 2008-08-26, 09:39:00
Dr. Nicolas Christou has been honored as one of 3 recipients of the prestigious Brian P. Copenhaver Award for Innovation in Teaching with Technology for 2008.
Nicolas' award is in recognition of his development of the suite of interactive learning materials and simulation tools available through the Statistics Online Computational Resource and used by students and researchers at UCLA and around the globe[1]. More specifically, his recognition is for[2]:
• His contributions to the Statistics EBook
• His lead in building SOCR curriculum resources and classroom integration of SOCR materials in many lower and upper division classes
• His development of novel interactive activities included in the SOCR Experiments and SOCR Analyses
• His developments of dozens of learning modules (e.g., Relations between distributions)
Recipients of the Award were selected by the Faculty Committee on Educational Technology and prior award recipients. Award recipients and nominees will be recognized at a reception May 19, 2008 at the Faculty Center. To promote the open exchange of ideas in the use of technology in teaching, the Office of Instructional Development will, as in previous years, be interviewing all nominees for the Copenhaver Award. The interviews will be put on line as they become available.[1]
[1] http://www.oid.ucla.edu/edtech/bpcaward/bpca2008Date Posted: 2008-04-17, 08:19:00
Ariana Anderson has been awarded a teaching fellowship by the Collegium of University Teaching Fellows committee.
"The CUTF is an innovative program that creates unique learning opportunities for both graduate teaching fellows and undergraduate students on campus. Through the program, some of UCLA's very best advanced graduate students have the opportunity to develop and teach a lower division seminar in their field of specialization on a one-time only basis. This experience serves as a "capstone" to the teaching apprenticeship, preparing them for the academic job market and their role as future faculty. At the same time, undergraduates enrolled in CUTF seminars have the chance to take courses that are at the cutting edge of a discipline, and to experience the benefits of participating in a small-seminar environment."[1]
Ariana's accepted proposal is entitled "Pseudo-Science: Rational thought Processes". Ariana explains:
"In this class, we will learn how to objectively read writings and judge common, yet often controversial, claims in American culture. Sample topics covered will be the relationship between autism and vaccinations, global warming and human behavior, holistic medicine, and the safety of genetically modified foods. Students will learn how to locate scientific sources to validate claims, and how to objectively interpret statements in the light of data and logic. The last portion of the course will focus on the neurophysiological and logical implications of belief, discovering how the brain evaluates and invalidates arguments. The beliefs held in the natural world of science will be contrasted to the beliefs held in our personal life, illuminating how we develop our convictions on both. By evaluating polarizing topics through the lens of statistics and logic, we will learn how faith and beliefs bias not only other people's conclusions, but also our own."
The course is a 5 unit course, will meet two days a week, and will be conducted in the Winter/Spring 2008 term.
Ariana is a third year in the Statistics department and has a strong interest in statistical applications in Psychiatry.
[1] From Overview at http://www.oid.ucla.edu/Cutf
Date Posted: 2008-04-16, 09:32:00