# Connexions

You are here: Home » Content » Derived copy of Collaborative Statistics: Student Welcome Letter

### Recently Viewed

This feature requires Javascript to be enabled.

# Derived copy of Collaborative Statistics: Student Welcome Letter

Module by: Tom Grube. E-mail the author

Dear Student:

Have you heard others say, “You’re taking statistics? That’s the hardest course I ever took!” They say that, because they probably spent the entire course confused and struggling. They were probably lectured to and never had the chance to experience the subject. You will not have that problem. Let’s find out why.

There is a Chinese Proverb that describes our feelings about the field of statistics:

I HEAR, AND I FORGET

I SEE, AND I REMEMBER

I DO, AND I UNDERSTAND

Statistics is a “do” field. In order to learn it, you must “do” it. The original authors (Barbara Illowsky and Susan Dean) have structured this book so that you will have hands-on experiences. They will enable you to truly understand the concepts instead of merely going through the requirements for the course. The successful student will strive to understand the homework assignments, rather than viewing them as something to get through.

What will make this course different from a Statistics course as it was taught years ago? First, we have eliminated some of the drudgery of tedious calculations. You will be using computers or graphing calculators so that you do not need to struggle with the most tedious algebraic manipulations. There are some calculations and formulas that you will use to get a feel for how things are calculated, but the most involved calculations will be left to your TI-83/84 calculator or Minitab.

Here are some hints for success in your class:

• Work hard and work every night. If you can't work every night, spread the work out over several days- don't wait until an assignment is due to do a week's work in one night.
• Don’t get discouraged - you can do it!
• As you solve problems, ask yourself, “Does this answer make sense?”
• Many statistics words have the same meaning as in everyday English.
• Do the suggested problems for each chapter, even if I'm not going to grade them. The answers are generally there. This is your opportunity to check your understanding.
• Don’t get behind.
• Draw pictures - they truly help!
• Make it your goal with each lesson to learn, not to "get through it"!

Good luck and don’t give up!

Sincerely,
Tom Grube

P.S. I'm able to provide you with a free text because Barbara Illowsky and Susan Dean have written the text, which I am adapting/editing for this online class, and making it available free of charge. It is because of their hard work and generosity that you don't need to spend $100-$150 for a textbook for this course. Consider clicking on an "email the authors" link and dropping them a quick note to thank them.

## Content actions

PDF | EPUB (?)

### What is an EPUB file?

EPUB is an electronic book format that can be read on a variety of mobile devices.

My Favorites (?)

'My Favorites' is a special kind of lens which you can use to bookmark modules and collections. 'My Favorites' can only be seen by you, and collections saved in 'My Favorites' can remember the last module you were on. You need an account to use 'My Favorites'.

| A lens I own (?)

#### Definition of a lens

##### Lenses

A lens is a custom view of the content in the repository. You can think of it as a fancy kind of list that will let you see content through the eyes of organizations and people you trust.

##### What is in a lens?

Lens makers point to materials (modules and collections), creating a guide that includes their own comments and descriptive tags about the content.

##### Who can create a lens?

Any individual member, a community, or a respected organization.

##### What are tags?

Tags are descriptors added by lens makers to help label content, attaching a vocabulary that is meaningful in the context of the lens.

| External bookmarks