Center for Teaching Statistics Seminar
April 10, 4-5pm
MS 5137

Helen MacGillvray
Professor, School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology


Roles of assessment in learning in statistics and mathematics

The increased emphasis over the past decade on learning and teaching in universities has been both general and discipline-based. Although this sometimes causes tensions, it is important for disciplines to be pro-active in analysing, developing and proclaiming the pedagogical aspects of their disciplines, including points of agreement and disagreement with the general higher education literature and viewpoints. For example, calls for tertiary educators to assess what they value, to identify learning objectives, and to align assessment with objectives, appear in both general and discipline-specific higher education literature emphasizing the role of assessment in learning. However, in the nexus between principles and practice in tertiary assessment in statistics and mathematics, the variety and extent of demands and pressures on assessment packages can sometimes appear overwhelming and even contradictory. Amidst the balancing of formative, summative, flexible, continuous, rich and authentic assessment with demands for criteria and standards-referenced assessment, and developing generic graduate capabilities such as teamwork, problem-solving and communication skills, lurk the problems of over-assessment and the politics of pass rates and attrition. The many dimensions of the assessment challenge are complicated in introductory statistics and mathematics courses by the diversity of student cohorts in which the wide range of backgrounds, programs, motivations and study skills need consideration in designing appropriate assessment and learning packages.

This presentation discusses issues, challenges, successful and less successful strategies in designing and implementing integrated assessment and learning packages in statistics and mathematics particularly in early undergraduate years for both service and core courses. The vexatious questions of plagiarism, cooperative and group work are included. Examples are given in both statistics and mathematics, and similarities and contrasts with general higher education pedagogies are highlighted.

NOTE: Prof. MacGillvray will be visiting UCLA April 7-10.   Please contact Rob Gould, rgould@stat.ucla.edu,  if you'd like to meet with her.

Bio
Helen MacGillivray is a Professor in the Queensland University of Technology’s School of Mathematical Sciences, and Director of its Maths Access Centre. She has taught statistics and lead statistics teaching across all levels, class sizes and many disciplines. She has written or presented over 30 national and international papers in learning and teaching, and held more than 10 national or university teaching grants, most recently a National Leadership Award and a National Senior Fellowship. She has also played key roles over 15 years in school syllabi, resource development and teacher support across all levels of schooling.

Helen was the first female President, and the first female Honorary Life Member, of the Statistical Society of Australia Inc (SSAI). She has also been President of the Australian Mathematical Sciences Council and is now president-elect of the IASE. She is currently chair of the IASE strand of the 2009 Session of the International Statistics Institute, and scientific coordinator of the IASE’s 8th International Conference on Teaching Statistics, 2010, and is Australian representative on the editorial board of the journal ‘Teaching Statistics’. Her current statistical research interests are in the development and application of new distributional families of particular interest in the financial world.