AP Statistics Research Articles

The Vital Role of Student Social Interaction Outside Class in the University Environment

Soft skills training is usually a topic of attention and evaluation among university lecturers and educational scholars in Vietnam. However, there are still numerous issues with the evaluation at the time, which is why this study focuses on the value of soft skills courses at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. The essay specifically examines after-school social contact between university lecturers and students to be a component that has a significant influence on students' demand for social connection after extracurricular activities. The findings of analysing and examining data gathered on more than 300 students from Ho Chi Minh City Open University's majors reveal that the importance of implementing and maintaining social contacts among students helps the development of communication skills in students. This is regarded as a vital requirement for raising the lesson's interest. During these social encounters, most students have a pretty high degree of pleasure with their lecturers. Following that, research suggests that many students still struggle to maintain and create relationships with their peers. Finally, the author provides several options for promoting students' social communication both during and after school hours References Argyle, M. (2017). Social interaction. Routledge. Cotet, G. B., Balgiu, B. A., & Zaleschi, V. C. (2017). Assessment procedure for the soft skills requested by Industry 4.0. In MATEC web of conferences (Vol. 121, p. 07005). EDP Sciences. Ellwood, R., & Abrams, E. (2018). Student’s social interaction in inquiry-based science education: How experiences of flow can increase motivation and achievement. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 13(2), 395-427. Greenhow, C., & Askari, E. (2017). Learning and teaching with social network sites: A decade of research in K-12 related education. Education and information technologies, 22(2), 623-645. Hằng, N. V. T., Meijer, M. R., Bulte, A. M., & Pilot, A. (2015). The implementation of a social constructivist approach in primary science education in Confucian heritage culture: the case of Vietnam. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 10(3), 665-693. Khá, N. N. (2019). Vận Dụng Tư Tưởng Hồ Chí Minh Về Tính Gương Mẫu, Tinh Thần Đoàn Kết, Dân Chủ Của Nhà Giáo Vào Việc Giáo Dục Đạo Đức Nhà Giáo Cho Sinh Viên Sư Phạm Hiện Nay. Tạp chí Khoa học, 16(11), 838. Mamurov, B. B. (2017). The Need to Prepare Future Teachers to Design a Student-Centered Educational Process. Eastern European Scientific Journal, (4). Morrison, K. E., DeBrabander, K. M., Jones, D. R., Ackerman, R. A., & Sasson, N. J. (2020). Social cognition, social skill, and social motivation minimally predict social interaction outcomes for autistic and non-autistic adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 3282. Smelser, N. J. (2013). Comparative methods in the social sciences. Quid Pro Books. Sousa, M. J., & Rocha, Á. (2017, April). Game based learning contexts for soft skills development. In World Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (pp. 931-940). Springer, Cham. Sternstein, M. (2017). Barron's AP Statistics. Simon and Schuster. Tejada, J. J., & Punzalan, J. R. B. (2012). On the misuse of Slovin’s formula. The philippine statistician, 61(1), 129-136. Ward, W. A. (2020). William Arthur Ward quotes. Inspirational Words of Wisdom Website.

Effect of teacher support on students’ math attitudes: Measurement invariance and moderation of students' background characteristics

We examine the effect of students' perceptions of teacher support on attitudes towards math and whether the association varies between students from historically underrepresented groups in STEM. Participants included high school students enrolled in an AP Statistics course (N = 585, Mage = 16.75 years, SDage = 0.88). Measurement invariance conducted on the basis of student background characteristics (i.e., biological sex, underrepresented race/ethnicity status, and parental educational attainment) provided evidence of metric invariance or greater. Standardized regression coefficients suggested potential differences, such that for students who were female, from an underrepresented racial/ethnicity group in STEM, or had parents with lower levels of education, the effect of teacher support appeared not as strong compared to their counterparts. However, scaled chi-square difference tests comparing nested latent path models did not suggest a moderation effect of these three characteristics. These findings have implications for understanding barriers many students face in receiving the benefits of teacher support.

Linking self-report and process data to performance as measured by different assessment types

This study was motivated by a need to understand the extent to which behavioral indicators of engagement from digital log data are associated with various student learning outcomes above and beyond self-reported levels of engagement, and whether the strength of these associations vary depending on the type of learning outcome. Student learning was assessed by way of four distinct learning outcomes that varied according to stakes (low-v. high-stakes) and span (one-time v. aggregated). Participants included high school students between 14 and 18 years of age enrolled in an AP Statistics course (N = 320, M age = 16.76 years, SD age = 0.85; 60.2% female) who had consented to use an online assessment system over the course of an academic year that was designed to provide personalized performance reports. While largely uncorrelated with self-report measures, certain process data variables were significantly correlated with learning outcomes. In particular, students’ frequency of score report checking, an indication of feedback-seeking behavior, while uncorrelated with self-reported student engagement, was associated with all learning outcomes. Other behaviors, such as the number of log-in sessions and the duration of sessions, were not. These findings suggest that process data from online assessment systems can help broaden and deepen our understanding of student behavior above and beyond self-report. That said, given that the volume and complexity of process data can make it challenging to mine and interpret, researchers must consider theory when identifying process data variables that are critical to the understanding of constructs of interest.

Cultivating a Productive-Disposition Toward Mathematics by Engaging in Service-Learning

ABSTRACT This research explores the positive impact of service-learning on the disposition of students in mathematics. This was a qualitative case study of high school AP Statistics students who completed a service-learning project. Data were gathered from student interviews, reflection journals, and field observations. The framework for the analysis follows the definition of “productive disposition” offered by the National Research Council and that remains foundational to the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice. The major themes that emerge from the data indicate that through service-learning, students see math as sensible, useful, and worthwhile. This supports the potential of service-learning as a pedagogical tool that can be utilized to develop a productive disposition in students; addressing at a practical level how the affective objectives of national policy documents can be achieved.

P1488Autonomic nervous system optimized cardiac resynchronization therapy

Abstract Introduction. Traditional Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy, CRT, relies on bi-ventricular, bi-V, pacing. For left bundle branch block, LBBB, patients with good atrial-right ventricular conduction, A-RVc, alternatives have been proposed that use left-ventricular only pacing, LVoP, with adaptive atrio-ventricular delay, AVD, that is updated every minute from A-RVc measurements. The key advantage is extended device longevity since the RV pacing pulse is not emitted. Purpose. In this paper we present a CRT alternative using fixed AVD LVoP + RV sense trigger (an LV pulse is triggered when an RV depolarization is sensed), RVsT, that can be used with LBBB patients with good A-RVc. Intrinsic RV depolarization is used. The longevity of the device is expected to approach that of a dual chamber device since AVD adaption is not needed. Method. 5 CRT patients with LBBB and good A-RVc, previously programmed to bi-V pacing, were reprogrammed to fixed AVD LVoP + RVsT. The devices are standard CRT pacemakers, CRT-P, with RVsT. They are normally operated in LVoP mode. In response to atrial tachycardia, mode switching to bi-V will be required. So, 3 chamber devices are still required. Results. Nightly at about 02:00 the CRT-P collects Ax-Vs (Ax = As & Ap) statistics for 35 consecutive heart cycles with AVD of 300 ms, while the patient is asleep. A typical plot of these timing statistics at the time of reprogramming to LVoP is shown in Fig. 1. After a self-training period of 2 weeks to 9 months, these statistics coalesce in a narrow range of values, 20 ms wide, as illustrated in Fig. 2 for our super responder (2 weeks). This 20 ms wide pattern persisted for the next 9 months. In the case of the index patient this lasted 3+ years. This persistent A-RVc pattern across all 5 patient can only be explained by a tight dromotropic control by the Autonomic Nervous System, ANS. Fig. 3 illustrates RVsT. As the RVs arrives earlier than the LVp, there is no longer synchronicity improvement since the LVp now follows the RVs immediately. In Fig. 4, we see long periods with high %RVs associated with high heart rates. Increased hemodynamic demand can only be met by increased contractility. Thus inotropic modulation by the ANS is now active and effective. The patients were put on remote monitoring with nightly follow-ups. Over a period of 6.5 months RVs (pre LVp) statistics were collected. A daily median of 11% was reported for this patient. On a particular day, it can be as high as 50%. Dromotropic action to pull in the RVs cannot be explained without concurrent inotropic modulation. Conclusions. Traditional CRT leads to ineffective ANS modulation due to bi-V pacing for >95-98% of the cycles. In our 5 patients the fixed AVD LVoP + RVsT program has allowed nervous system remodeling and the ANS is back in control of hemodynamics. Thus we have ANS optimized CRT! It is an attractive CRT alternative for LBBB patients with good A-RVc since device longevity is also improved. Abstract Figure. Fixed delay LV-only + RVs trigger

Analyzing Mathematics and AP Statistics Assessment Items in Terms of the Levels of Thinking Skills They Assess

This study is a part of a large study that investigated the Assessment Practices of Mathematics Teachers who also teach AP Statistics. In this paper I investigate the thinking skills that assessment items used mathematics and AP Statistics classroom assess. Two teachers who were teaching mathematics and AP Statistics participated in this study. Each teacher was observed 12 times in class. Artifacts were also collected from each teacher, mainly oral questions and written questions. A mathematics taxonomy framework was used to analyze the characteristics of the assessment items. The results of the study indicated that assessment questions (oral and written) in AP Statistics and mathematics mostly assessed recall of factual information, comprehension of factual information and routine use of procedures.

The AP Statistics Curriculum: Past, Present, and Future

The AP Statistics Curriculum: Past, Present, and Future

Farkle Fundamentals and Fun

The dice game Farkle provides an excellent basis for four activities that reinforce probability and expected value concepts for students in an introductory statistics class. These concepts appear in the increasingly popular AP statistics course (Peck 2011) and are used in analyzing ethical issues from insurance and gambling (COMAP 2009; Woodward and Woodward 1994). In addition to investigating these four fun activities, we also investigate a strategy to optimize a player's score on a turn in Farkle and indicate possible additional explorations.

Motivation for and Benefits from Attending the AP Statistics Reading

This study explores the Advanced Placement ® Statistics reading as a source of professional development for teachers. The study was conducted to capture the motivation for and benefits from attending the collective grading. Research has shown that examining student work during professional development has implications for teaching. The premise of this study is that Advanced Placement readings are a context for examining the impact of collective grading of student work. The purpose of the study was to examine the motivation of and benefits for AP Statistics reading participants. The results suggest that analysis of student work may be a method to address teachers' preparation to teach statistics at the level expected by recent reform movements in the field of statistics education.

TheRStudent Companion

I believe there is a fairly broad consensus that the teaching of introductory statistics often shortchanges the students. Course use unmotivating examples are unmotivating, principles are reduced to mere formulas, and even the word statistics evokes an image of tedious computation. Though it evoked controversy, I side with Xiao-Li Meng’s comments (Meng 2009) that the teaching of AP Statistics generally suffers from such problems.

Testing for uncorrelated errors in ARMA models: non‐standard Andrews‐Ploberger tests

A problem of interest in economic and finance applications is testing whether ARMA (Autoregressive moving average) errors are uncorrelated under weak assumptions, namely assumptions where the errors are neither iid nor a martingale difference. In this paper, non-standard versions of the tests of serial correlation introduced by Andrews and Ploberger (1996, hereafter AP) are proposed for diagnostic checking of ARMA errors. The original AP tests are designed for the case where the observed time series is generated by ARMA(1,1) models under the alternative and use asymptotic critical values computed by AP. The non-standard testing procedure uses AP statistics calculated from residuals and critical values based on asymptotic distribution theory derived under weak assumptions. The motivation for modifying the original AP tests is that they have attractive properties for the case for which they were originally designed: They are consistent against all non-white noise alternatives and have good all-round power against non-seasonal alternatives compared to several widely used tests in the literature, including those of Box and Pierce (1970, hereafter BP) and Ljung and Box (1978, hereafter LB) tests. A further advantage of the AP tests is that there is no need to specify a cutoff lag-length as is necessary for the BP and LB tests. We compare the non-standard AP tests with the non-standard BP and LB tests proposed by Francq et al. (2005), the tests of Hong and Lee (2007), and the tests using standardized residuals proposed by Chen (2008). In Monte Carlo experiments using ARMA models with GARCH (Generalised autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity), EGARCH (Exponential GARCH) and non-MDS (Martingale difference sequence) innovations, the non-standard AP tests generally have better power than the other tests we consider. This suggests that the power advantage of the original AP tests extends to the more general framework considered in this paper.

AP Statistics: Building Bridges Between High School and College Statistics Education

After providing a brief history of the AP Statistics program and a description of the AP Statistics course content, exam and grading, the paper presents a discussion of current challenges for statistics education in the schools and a look at opportunities for the statistics profession, especially college faculty, to aid the AP Statistics program so as to improve statistics teaching in both venues and thus strengthen the quantitative literacy of future generations of high school or college graduates. This article has supplementary material online.

Calibrated peer review: The application of statistical concepts to a biological research question

This project used Calibrated Peer Review™ (CPR) for Teaching Experimental, Ethical, and Quantitative (TEEQ) Biology in a freshman biology course to help students connect what they learn in lecture to both current and historical research endeavors. The innovation is to introduce reading primary literature and writing about statistical skills in a way that is allied to student interests in biology. CPR is a Web‐based program that enables frequent writing assignments even in large classes with limited instructional resources. In fact, CPR can reduce the time an instructor spends reading and assessing student writing. This study examines improvements in student's ability to (1) identify the treatments in a biological experiment; (2) present a completely randomized design to address the research question of interest; (3) describe the benefit of limiting sources of variability; and (4) describe the limitations to the scope of inference for the biologist. Responses to an AP Statistics item used as a measure show that a series of CPR assignments produced a very high frequency of students with knowledge about use of experimental, quantitative, and statistical applications to a biological research question. Funded by NSF DUE/CCLI #0837229.

How LO can You GO? Using the Dice-Based Golf Game GOLO to Illustrate Inferences on Proportions and Discrete Probability Distributions

This paper describes an interactive activity that revolves around the dice-based golf game GOLO.The GOLO game can be purchased at various retail locations or online at igolo.com. In addition, the game may be played online free of charge at igolo.com. The activity is completed in four parts. The four parts can be used in a sequence or they can be used individually. Part 1 illustrates the binomial distribution. Part 2 illustrates the sampling distribution of the sample proportion. Part 3 illustrates confidence intervals for a population proportion. Part 4 illustrates hypothesis tests for a population proportion.Extensions of the activity can be used to illustrate discrete probability distributions (including the geometric, hypergeometric, and negative binomial) and the distribution of the first order statistic. The activity can be used in an AP statistics course or an introductory undergraduate statistics course. The extensions of the activity can be used in an intermediate undergraduate statistics course or a mathematical statistics course. Each extension is self-contained and can be carried out without having worked through other extensions or any of the four parts of the main activity.

Using the theory of successful intelligence as a framework for developing assessments in AP physics

A new test of Advanced Placement Physics, explicitly designed to balance both content and cognitive-processing skills, was developed using Sternberg’s theory of successful intelligence. The test was administered to 281 AP Physics students from 10 schools during the 2006–2007 school year. Six empirically distinguishable profiles of strengths and weaknesses emerged from an exploratory Q-type factor analysis across the four cognitive-skill areas assessed (i.e., memory, analytical, creative, and practical skills). These profiles replicated those found in previous research in the domains of AP Psychology and AP Statistics. Furthermore, achievement differences between ethnic groups on various cognitive subscales were reduced as compared with traditional estimates. The results provide evidence of the importance of integrating modern theories of cognitive processing into large-scale assessments.

Fantasy Baseball with a Statistical Twist

Fantasy baseball, a game invented in 1980, allows baseball fans to become managers of pretend baseball teams. In most fantasy baseball leagues, participants choose teams consisting of major league players who they believe will do well in five offensive categories (batting average, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases, and runs scored) or in five pitching categories. We bring a fantasy baseball activity into entry-level statistics classes. Each student drafts a team on the basis of nine offensive categories, most of which are statistical twists on the five categories above. The primary goal of this activity is to apply the material in an introductory one-semester, non-calculus-based college course in statistics. This is the type of course that AP Statistics courses are designed to emulate, so this project is appropriate for AP Statistics classes as well. Indeed, this project incorporates exploratory analysis, planning and conducting a study, probability, and statistical inference, the four major themes of an AP Statistics class (The College Board 2004).

Archaeological Sampling Strategies

This paper describes an interactive project developed to use for teaching statistical sampling methods in an introductory undergraduate statistics course, an AP statistics course, or, with adaptation, in a statistical sampling course or a statistical simulation course. The project allows students to compare the performance of simple random sampling, stratified random sampling, systematic random sampling, and cluster random sampling in an archaeological setting.

Internet Resources for AP Statistics Teachers

Both teaching and learning are increasingly becoming technology-oriented processes, and teachers are struggling to keep up with rapid technological advances. The Internet, one of the most popular media of communication, provides fast access to vast amounts of information. There are many web sites that contain information useful for Advanced Placement Statistics teachers. This paper provides information about Internet resources available for project ideas, datasets, conferences, technical support, class notes, and much more.

Advanced Placement Statistics—Past, Present, and Future

The Advanced Placement Statistics course, first offered in 1997 after more than 12 years of planning, allows high school students who pass an examination to receive college credit for a statistics course taken at their high school. In its third year 25,240 students took this examination, and 57% “passed.” The three-hour exam consists of both multiple choice and free response questions, which cover the four sections of the AP Statistics syllabus: Data exploration, study design, probability distributions through simulation, and inference. Although some problems remain, both students and teachers find the course to be challenging and valuable.