Math 115 Statistics Syllabus
Spring 2006
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 2:00-2:50 in Sci. G-09 (Teasley Lecture Hall)
Instructor:
Jim Wiseman
Office:
Buttrick 331
Phone:
x6202
Email:
jwiseman@agnesscott.edu
Office hours: Wed. 3-4, Thurs. 2-4, and by appointment.
Course information:
Available on Blackboard
and the course website, http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/~jwiseman/mat115
Textbook: Moore and McCabe, Introduction to the Practice of Statistics, 4th ed., available in the bookstore. The publisher has a website for the book at http://bcs.whfreeman.com/ips4e .
Plan:
We'll cover most of chapters 1-9 and 12. Topics include data
collection, data analysis, probability, and statistical inference.
There's a more detailed
schedule on Blackboard
and at http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/~jwiseman/mat115/schedule.html,
but it's subject to change.
Homework:
Working problems is vital to learning statistics; there will be
homework
assignments nearly every week. You don't have to turn in the
assignments, but I expect you to complete them on time; you will almost
certainly do very poorly in the class if you don't. Assignments
will be posted on Blackboard
and at http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/~jwiseman/mat115/assignments.html
– you are responsible for checking the assignments, as I
won't give them in class.
Final project: You will work in
groups of three on a final project. You will collect and analyze
data on a topic of your choice, and present your results in a short
paper and a 15-minute in-class presentation. There are more details here.
Honor code and group work:
All students are expected to follow the honor code throughout the
semester.
I strongly encourage you to work on the homework in groups. I
suggest that you work on the problems by yourself first, making a note
of anything giving you trouble; then meet with your group and work
through the remaining problems together; and finally write up the
solutions by yourself.
Every group member must write up her own solutions independently; just
copying the group's answers is plagiarism and is unacceptable.
Getting help:
As Talking Barbie says, "Math class is tough." (Unless she's
the hacked version - then she says, "Eat lead, Cobra.")
Chances are that sooner or later you'll get stuck on something, so
don't get frustrated. Think hard, and if you're still stuck,
do something else for a while. (It's amazing how often that
works.)
My office hours are above - these are times when I'm guaranteed to be
in my office and willing to talk. If you want to see me at
other times, the best thing to do is to set up an appointment with me
by email or after class. Of course, you're welcome to just
drop by my office, as long as you don't mind if I'm not there or don't
have time to talk.
Our Learning Support coordinator, Ms. Schwarzlose, together with
student learning assistants will be able to provide help throughout the
week. More details, including the schedule, will be on Blackboard. You are encouraged to use this service, and should think of it as part of your weekly mathematics regimen.
Finally, I can't emphasize enough that your classmates are your best
source of help.
Course goals: Learn to
- collect data in a statistically responsible manner
- perform a complete basic analysis of collected data, and understand the value of the computations
- use data to infer information about a population
- understand how to critically analyze others' statistical analyses
- communicate statistics effectively, both orally and in writing
Exams and deadlines:
- First midterm: Friday, 2/17.
- Proposal for final project due:
Friday, 2/24.
- Second midterm: Wednesday, 4/5.
- Final presentations begin: Friday, 4/21.
- Final paper due: Monday, 5/1.
- Final exam: self-scheduled.
Assessment: Each midterm 25%, final project 15%, final exam 35%.
Missed exams: If your
project proposal is late, you will get a zero on that part of your
grade. Late projects won't be accepted, and you
won't be allowed to make up missed exams, except under very exceptional
circumstances (e.g., the sasquatch attacks - and even then you should
get a note from the sasquatch). In the case of a conflict
that you absolutely can't resolve, you may arrange to take a midterm
exam early.
Attendance: I expect you to be at every class, on
time. However, tardiness or absence will have no (direct)
effect on your grade.
Feedback: I'm very interested in your feedback throughout the
class: what you like, what you don't, what's working for you,
what isn't - anything that you think might help me make the course
better. If you have any comments (and you probably should),
the easiest thing to do is to talk to me (or send email) about
them. If you want to remain anonymous, you can fill out the
anonymous feedback form on Blackboard.