36-701 Perspectives on Statistical Practice and Pedagogy
Fall 2004

Tentative Schedule:
Mon/Wed 1:30 - 2:20, BH231B

Course Web Pages: 
  (1) http://www.stat.cmu.edu/~brian/701 [announcements and general information]
  (2) http://www.cmu.edu/blackboard/ [pre-class questions and other discussions]

Here is a syllabus and a tentative schedule of events (check the tentative
schedule frequently for updates!).

Brian W. Junker               J. Timothy Dawson
Department of Statistics      Department of English (Rhetoric Program)
132E Baker Hall               259 Baker Hall
(412) 268-2718 or 8874        (412) 727-1003
brian@stat.cmu.edu            jtdawson@andrew.cmu.edu 
                              or timdawsonma@hotmail.com

[feel free to contact us with inquiries, suggestions, etc.]

Links
-----

Links to some materials and handouts for class.

Activities
----------

For most class periods we will schedule an outside speaker, usually
members of the Statistics Department or the Eberly Teaching Center, to
give talks or lead discussions on various important issues in teaching
and statistical practice.  (It may not seem like these two topics go
together but I hope we can show you that they do, as the semester
progresses.)

The required work for this course is not severe but it is important:

1. You must be scheduled for at least 5 hours of TA duties, including
   classroom student contact (e.g. as a lab TA) with undergrads in
   statistics courses [this is taken care of for you; please let me
   know if you think you do not have a TA assignment like this, this
   fall].

2. You must complete two written data analysis reports (one for 36-711
   [Statistical Computing] and one for 36-707 [Applied Regression]),
   and submit rough and final drafts of each report.  If you are not
   registered for these two courses please let me know.  The final
   draft must show that you have attended to the comments, suggestions
   and other feedback given on your rough draft.

3. You must arrange with Michele DiPietro of the Eberly Teaching
   Center (dipietro@stat.cmu.edu) to have your classroom work observed
   by an Eberly staff member, and you must participate in a private
   debriefing from the classroom observation.

4. You must prepare, and deliver in class, a lecture fragment suitable
   for an introductory undergraduate statistics course.  You must also
   attend other students' lecture fragments.

5. You must actively participate in the other in-class and
   class-organized activities, such as demonstrations, tours, panel
   discussions, lectures, etc. that make up the remainder of this
   course.  From time to time I will also ask you to write brief
   reports or summaries of some of these activities.

During the first couple of class meetings we will organize the rest of
the semester together.

Evaluation
----------

If you complete all five requirements above successfully, you will end
up with an A for the course.  If you complete them but not with full
effort, you will most likely get a B.  If you don't complete all five
requirements, you will get an I (incomplete).  At the regular review
of graduate students at the end of the semester the faculty will
discuss how you can make up the incomplete, depending on your TA and
course assignment in Spring 2005.

Objectives
----------

* Learn some approaches to statistics teaching and learning that are
  motivated by cognitive psychology.

* Learn the ABA^{-1} metaphor for statistical consulting; learn
  connections between statistical consulting and statistics teaching.

* Begin to think critically about, and self-monitor, your own
  teaching, through the practice teaching sessions scheeduled for this
  course, and through feedback from classroom observation by Eberly
  Center teaching staff.

* Begin to think critically about your approach to statistical
  consulting and collaboration, through paper writing, participation
  in panel discussions, etc.

* Learn some aspects of being a successful academic statistician.

Prerequisites
-------------

The course is open to any graduate student in Statistics who is
concurrently registered for 36-711 and 36-707 and who has at least a
1/2-time TA assignment involving student contact in the classroom or
lab.  Others may enroll with my permission.