The following course will be of interest to anyone involved in the teaching of statistics. Please reply asap to guarantee a place.
Course: Best Practice in Tutorials and Practicals
Thursday 19th January 2006
A One-Day Workshop at the RSS Offices, London
by Paul Baxter & Stuart Barber from The University of Leeds
Synopsis
Small group tutorials are an important part of many elementary undergraduate statistics courses; the trend towards large lecture groups means they often provide the only real opportunity to give individual help and guidance. However, students do not always take advantage of this opportunity. Moreover, postgraduate students who act as tutors sometimes feel ill-prepared for this important role. We aim to share practical advice on making the most of tutorials and encouraging student interaction.
Practical sessions (often involving the use of a computer and real data) can be a key feature of undergraduate statistics at all levels; when used effectively they help to set the material in context and motivate student learning. Designing and running a successful practical is not straightforward. The examples need to be challenging and realistic, yet technicalities and computing issues should not distract from the underlying concepts. We aim to discuss the components of good practicals across the undergraduate curriculum.
Both topics will be illustrated by a wide range of examples, and delegates will be invited to discuss their own experiences with the rest of the group. The session is targeted at academic staff who design tutorials and practicals, and the postgraduates that help to run them.
Provisional Timetable
10.00-10.15 Registration and Welcome
10.15-11.15 Tips and hints for running a tutorial
11.15-11.30 Coffee Break
11.30-12.30 Case studies
12.30-13.30 Lunch
13.30-14.30 What makes a good practical?
14.30-14.45 Tea Break
14.45-15.45 Case studies
15.45-16.00 Discussion and Close
Cost: £55 includes tea, coffee, lunch and course materials (discounts available for participants from same university/college/workplace - £100 for two, £140 for three)
Registration: Contact Brad Payne on 0115 8488410 or email [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
(Please state if you have any special dietary requirements)
Biopics:
Paul Baxter is a lecturer in Statistics in the School of Mathematics at the University of Leeds. He takes an active interest in issues of learning and teaching, and has recently written an article for the newsletter of the Maths, Stats and OR Network. He has experience of teaching undergraduates from mathematical and non-mathematical backgrounds, as well as short courses designed for industry, commerce and the public sector. He has recently undertaken consultancy work for West Yorkshire Police, and seeks to promote Statistics in his role as Secretary/Treasurer of the Royal Statistical Society Leeds/Bradford Local Group. His research interests include non-parametric regression using the wavelet transform, and statistical modelling in the environmental and physical sciences.
Stuart Barber is a lecturer in Statistics in the School of Mathematics at the University of Leeds with a keen interest in practical learning and teaching issues. He has taught statistics to mathematicians, medics, biologists and business students from foundation to masters levels as well to many practicing research scientists. Research interests are primarily wavelet methods in statistics, group sequential clinical trials and survival analysis.
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