Integrating Research Methods into Advanced Placement Statistics Through a Sustainable Energy Context

IntroductionThe integrated research methods design addresses several common challenges observed in the teaching and learning of Advanced Placement Statistics. Typical difficulties for students during their learning of statistics include (Garfield et al., 2009):

• Mistaken focus on procedural computation (rather than conceptual understanding)• Unfamiliarity with unpredictable imperfections seen in “real” data• Open-ended, critical thinking questions allowing for different interpretations• Extensive use of writing and communication Traditionally, students not presented with an in-depth application of research and experimental design until after the AP Exam and finals. This

lack of consistent application is a challenge for establishing retention and relevancy for students. Additionally, when students were asked to comment on their overall experience of the course at the end of the year, a recurrent suggestion was to implement more frequent opportunities for application of course concepts, such as providing tasks such as examining data from Gallup polls, conducting student surveys, etc.

In this curriculum design, conventional research methods are applied throughout the year in smaller, scaffolded research project modules within each major unit. Each project module therefore reinforces the statistical concepts of the corresponding unit, providing a concrete example of real-world application. The aim of this design is to foster a more robust, lasting understanding of how statistics are applied in real world and research contexts. Students also enhance their collaboration, communication, and presentation skills throughout this process. Additionally, this design emphasizes the importance of energy conservation, with a broad topics list pertaining to sustainability and environmental awareness. By defining the framework of energy conservation, students are directed to understanding a topic highly relevant to society and their lives, as well as current research in math, science, and engineering.

Central Topics and Example Questions Early into the course, students are given the task of submitting a project proposal indicating their area of interest, describing the specific research question or issue. Students will be provided with the following brief list, but are not limited to: - Renewable energy (solar, wind, nuclear)

- How can the implementation of solar energy be improved (ie: storage, grid limitations)

- SmartGrid technology- Energy security and stability- Environmental consciousness of consumers- Sustainable actions/programs (ex: recycling)- And more…

References & AcknowledgementsThank you to Dr. Chien-Fei Chen, Dr. Xiaojing Xu, Amber Tran, and Faiza Islam of the CURENT and YSP programs for their support in curriculum and research development during the RET summer program.• Garfield & Everson, Preparing Teachers of Statistics, Journal of Statistics Education, Vol 17, no 2, (2009). • Aguado, N. Alexander, Teaching Research Methods: Learning By Doing, Journal of Public Affairs

Education, Vol 15, no 2, (2010).

Karen ChengL& N STEM Academy401 Henley St. Knoxville, TN, 37902

Standards & Objectives• AP Statistics Exam topics (Major Unit Topics)• Research methods learning objectives have

been defined to the table to the right on the unit outline.

• Research methods also follow the d.School engineering design process, used commonly in problem-based learning activities

Implications for Learning• By the end of the course, students should be

able to compute descriptive statistics; design studies or experiments to test hypotheses; perform tests of statistical significance; and make statistical inferences, but also make connections to make “the big picture.”

• Through unit projects and yearlong investigation of topics through the integrated research design, students will also become familiar with scientific research methods and refine their presentation and communication skills.

• By being presented with the challenges of energy conservation and sustainability, students are directed to understanding a topic highly relevant to society and their lives, as well as current research in science and engineering.

• Future surveys and student interviews will be performed throughout the course to assess the effectiveness of the design, as well as to measure potential retention and relevancy of both interest and conceptual understanding among students.

MAJOR UNIT TOPIC RESEARCH METHODS* STUDENT PRODUCT

I.

Exploring Data - Describing patterns and departures from patterns: Constructing/interpreting graphs of distributions of univariate data, summarizing and comparing distributions of univariate data, exploring bivariate data, exploring categorical data

Empathize & Define: Identifying topic of interest, conducting the literature review, building background information, identifying reputable sources, appropriate citation guidelines

Project proposal and descriptive essay about research topic

II.

Sampling and Experimentation - Planning and conducting a study: Overview of methods of data collection, planning and conducting surveys vs. experiments, generalizability of results and types of conclusions that can be drawn from observational studies, experiments and surveys

Ideate & Prototype: Generating good research questions and hypotheses; identifying conditions, assumptions, and limitations; data gathering; preliminary descriptive data analysis

Preliminary descriptive analysis of data and methodology

III.

Anticipating Patterns - Exploring random phenomena through probability: Probability, combining independent random variables, the normal distribution, sampling distributions, simulations of random phenomena

Test & Evaluate: Determining experimental validity, recognizing trends in data, statistical analysis and inference, drawing conclusions, identifying error and limitations, preparation of findings for presentation

Progress report, results, and statistical analysis of data

IV.

Statistical Inference: Estimating population parameters and testing hypotheses: estimation (point estimators and confidence intervals), tests of significance

Analysis & Reflection: Statistical analysis and inference, drawing conclusions, identifying error and limitations, drawing implications and future prospects, preparation of findings for presentation

Poster and presentation

Location Coal Received

Alabama 4,989

Alaska 0

Arizona 5,256

Arkansas 3,920

California 207

Colorado 4,714

Connecticut 70

Delaware 147

District of Columbia 0

… …

The Integrated Research Design Framework

Presented at the UT Summer STEM Symposium, Thursday July 18th, 2013

Example Unit 1 Module: Coal for Energy• Promote critical thinking and thinking outside of the box as statisticians:

• Ex: “Why do Alaska and Washington D.C. not have receipts of coal in this dataset?” (See table below)• Research methods such as filtering, making judgement of data will be presented and practiced here,

alongside standard emphasis of using statistical vocabulary to describe data (i.e.: students provided with data on nationwide coal use for electricity; calculate 5-number summary, describe trends in the distributions, etc.)

NE ME ENC WNC SA ESC WSC M PC PNC0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

Receipts Coal Delivered Mar '12-'13

US Region

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Extension of Research MethodsThis design will expose students to a greater variety of research topics that are often omitted from the conventional research project approach. Examples: • Message framing in survey design• Implications of demographics

Data retrieved from EIA.gov

Ex: After noting that there is a greater receipt of cola in the East/North Central (ENC) region, students may choose to develop a research question exploring the energy usage of the region and how to improve consumer energy use in that area.