Away from class:
- Work and study hard and steadfastly
- Read--more than scan
or pass over words
a. Study the meaning and intent of passages--connect them
with earlier passages and concepts.
b. Develop an intuitive understanding of each new concept
and definition. Relate them to your own everyday experience
with roblem solving and decision
making.
c. Look up unfamiliar words and terms. Simply scanning
detailed information and avoiding or skipping unfamiliar and
difficult material will not suffice.
Missing one step in a statistical procedure may invalidate a host of other
steps and result
in a poor or incorrect decision.
d. Summarize each chapter in your own words (or section,
paragraph, and/or sentence).
e. Refer to the objectives as the front of the chapter
and section headings to gain, maintain, and regain your bearings.
Learn, but don't get lost in details.
- Ponder
- Reread
- Solve problems: Remember
that this is an introductory class and that statistics is new material
for almost everyone in
the class, so you will probably find that drill
is beneficial. Sometimes subtle differences in situations prove to
be enlightening.
It is much better to experience and clarify troublesome
circumstances prior to a test rather than during it. Learning from
our failures is an important lifetime principle--try
to make yours early (before test or job situation) and learn quickly!
a. Work to obtain the correct numerical solution.
Learn from your failures!
b. Check that you understand what the solution means and
how it is useful. Try writing a sentence using the solution value
that would explain what you have
found to a general audience in a nontechnical manner.
c. Compare each problem to earlier ones in the same section
(earlier sections, same chapter, earlier chapters).
Determine how they are alike and
how they differ.
d. Perform a sensitivity analysis on the solution.
Predict how change in a given value will alter the solution (larger, smaller),
then rework the problem to evaluate
your reasoning.
e. Consider the problems you have solved so that you can
determine which was
--most interesting
--most challenging
--most enlightening (one
that shed most light about a statistical concept)
--most important for other
students to experience.
- Develop questions
to ask in class or in the office. Think of situations where you might
employ statistical techniques that
you have learned or situations susceptible to statistical
analyses that we have not studied. Find applications of statistics
we have studied.
- Review previous concepts.
In class:
- Be prepared--even
when you were absent in the previous class or classes. You should
read new material before class
and work problems after we cover the material.
- Participate--Present your work and thoughts or those of a team to which you are assigned. Ask relevant questions.
- Cooperate in making each class a positive experience for all involved.
- Attend
- Be on time