STATISTICS 427 Summer
About the Course
3 credit course
Full-term course:
3 lectures per week (See the section on “Statistics 427 Regular”)
1st-term course:
3 lectures and 2 recitations per week
Lecture
- Structure of the course:
- Dependent on instructor.
- 1 midterm.
- 1 final exam.
- About 4/5 homework assignments.
- One 8.5x11 inches sheet of notes for midterm.
- Two 8.5x11 inches sheets of notes for final exam.
- Practice midterm only.
- Topics covered:
- Probability Theory.
- Random variables: discrete and continuous, moments, combinations.
- Discrete probability distributions: Binomial, Geometric/Negative Binomial, Hypergeometric, Poisson.
- Continuous probability distributions: Uniform, Exponential, Gamma.
- Normal distribution: Probabilities, Combinations, CLT.
If time is a factor, the portion that is most likely to suffer is that of the discrete probability distributions. Specifically, the Geometric, Negative Binomial, and Hypergeometric distributions are the first to get cut from the topic list.
- Challenging concepts:
- Determining what distribution to use in what situation. Doing lots of examples is definitely helpful.
- Central Limit Theorem- Try explaining this to them in simple and straightforward terms. Stress to them that this may be the most important concept they learn that quarter. Also, they need to know it for Statistics 428.
- Some students struggle with derivatives and integrals. It might be a good idea to hand out or offer a calculus review at the beginning of the quarter.
- Things that are taught differently from other courses:
- In Hayter’s text, the form for the Exponential/Gamma is different from that given in Casella and Berger. The instructor should make sure that he/she follows the form in the text used in the class.
- Text used:
- Since 2005, Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists (2nd edition) by Hayter.
- Notes:
- Depends on instructor. Some prefer presenting notes the “old fashioned way”- on the chalkboard. Some use the transparencies, while some others use PowerPoint slides.
- Statistical software:
- None.
- Course management website:
- Usually Carmen.
- Grade dependent on attendance:
- Up to the instructor.
- Helpful tips for new TAs:
- Get in touch with TAs who have lectured this course.
- Get notes, examples, activities, exams, and other course materials from someone who’s taught the course before. They may serve as a good starting point.
- Read through the notes a couple of days before you teach the material. This gives you enough time to contact the course coordinator, and have your doubts cleared.
- Try to apply the material to their disciplines as much as possible.
- If you’re used to the Statistics 133, 135, 145 introductory courses, remember this is a very different group of students.
- Dependent on instructor.
- 1 midterm.
- 1 final exam.
- About 4/5 homework assignments.
- One 8.5x11 inches sheet of notes for midterm.
- Two 8.5x11 inches sheets of notes for final exam.
- Practice midterm only.
- Probability Theory.
- Random variables: discrete and continuous, moments, combinations.
- Discrete probability distributions: Binomial, Geometric/Negative Binomial, Hypergeometric, Poisson.
- Continuous probability distributions: Uniform, Exponential, Gamma.
- Normal distribution: Probabilities, Combinations, CLT.
- Determining what distribution to use in what situation. Doing lots of examples is definitely helpful.
- Central Limit Theorem- Try explaining this to them in simple and straightforward terms. Stress to them that this may be the most important concept they learn that quarter. Also, they need to know it for Statistics 428.
- Some students struggle with derivatives and integrals. It might be a good idea to hand out or offer a calculus review at the beginning of the quarter.
- In Hayter’s text, the form for the Exponential/Gamma is different from that given in Casella and Berger. The instructor should make sure that he/she follows the form in the text used in the class.
- Since 2005, Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists (2nd edition) by Hayter.
- Depends on instructor. Some prefer presenting notes the “old fashioned way”- on the chalkboard. Some use the transparencies, while some others use PowerPoint slides.
- None.
- Usually Carmen.
- Up to the instructor.
- Get in touch with TAs who have lectured this course.
- Get notes, examples, activities, exams, and other course materials from someone who’s taught the course before. They may serve as a good starting point.
- Read through the notes a couple of days before you teach the material. This gives you enough time to contact the course coordinator, and have your doubts cleared.
- Try to apply the material to their disciplines as much as possible.
- If you’re used to the Statistics 133, 135, 145 introductory courses, remember this is a very different group of students.
Recitation:
- Structure of recitation:
- Each TA, under the guidance of the lecturer/course coordinator, creates his/her own lesson plans, so the structure varies. Class might include:
- Selected homework problems and other problems from the text.
- Extra practice problems.
- Activities- group/individual.
- Grade dependent on recitation:
- Consult with the instructor as to how points should be allotted for attendance participation.
- No specific rule as to how the points are to be determined.
- Different TAs use different rules:
- Base grade on how many recitations a student attended, and his/her attitude in class.
- Base grade on recitation attendance and performance on recitation activities.
- Things that are taught differently from other courses:
- None, really.
- Challenging concepts:
- Expectation and variance formulae.
- Helpful tips for new TAs:
- Talk to experienced TAs. They can tell you what specific problems to expect when teaching a particular topic.
- Get activities, worksheets, and other course materials from people who have taught the class before. This will save you a lot of time your first quarter and you will have resources that you know work.
- Become familiar with the textbook.
- Plan ahead.
- Sometimes it helps to very briefly go over topics, concepts and ideas before you work on problems that implement these. Students may have forgotten the concepts from lecture and may need a little “refreshing.”
- Each TA, under the guidance of the lecturer/course coordinator, creates his/her own lesson plans, so the structure varies. Class might include:
- Selected homework problems and other problems from the text.
- Extra practice problems.
- Activities- group/individual.
- Consult with the instructor as to how points should be allotted for attendance participation.
- No specific rule as to how the points are to be determined.
- Different TAs use different rules:
- Base grade on how many recitations a student attended, and his/her attitude in class.
- Base grade on recitation attendance and performance on recitation activities.
- None, really.
- Expectation and variance formulae.
- Talk to experienced TAs. They can tell you what specific problems to expect when teaching a particular topic.
- Get activities, worksheets, and other course materials from people who have taught the class before. This will save you a lot of time your first quarter and you will have resources that you know work.
- Become familiar with the textbook.
- Plan ahead.
- Sometimes it helps to very briefly go over topics, concepts and ideas before you work on problems that implement these. Students may have forgotten the concepts from lecture and may need a little “refreshing.”