Dawson (1995) presented a data set giving a population at risk and fatalities for an “unusual episode” (the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic) and discussed the use of the data set in a first statistics course as an elementary exercise in statistical thinking, the goal being to deduce the origin of the data. Simonoff (1997) discussed the use of this data set in a second statistics course to illustrate logistic regression. Moore (2000) used an abbreviated form of the data set in a chapter exercise on the chi-square test. This article describes an activity that illustrates contingency table (two-way table) analysis. Students use contingency tables to analyze the “unusual episode” data (from Dawson 1995) and attempt to use their analysis to deduce the origin of the data. The activity is appropriate for use in an introductory college statistics course or in a high school AP statistics course.

The activity begins with an explanation of the Caesar Shift for message encryption (Singh, 1999). The Caesar Shift is a translation of the alphabet; for example, a five-letter shift would code the letter a as f, b as g, … z as e. We describe a five-step process for decoding an encrypted message. First, groups of size 4 construct a frequency table of the letters in two lines of a coded message. Second, students construct a bar chart for a reference message of the frequency of letters in the English language. Third, students create a bar chart of the coded message. Fourth, students visually compare the bar chart of the reference message (step 2) to the bar chart of the coded message (step 3). Based on this comparison, students hypothesize a shift. Fifth, students apply the shift to the coded message.

This activity leads students to appreciate the usefulness of simulations for approximating probabilities. It also provides them with experience calculating probabilities based on geometric arguments and using the bivariate normal distribution. We have used it in courses in probability and mathematical statistics, as well as in an introductory statistics course at the post-calculus level.

This group activity focuses on conducting an experiment to determine which of two brands of paper towels are more absorbent by measuring the amount of water absorbed. A two-sample t-test can be used to analyze the data, or simple graphics and descriptive statistics can be used as an exploratory analysis. Students are asked to think about design issues, and to write a short report stating their results and conclusions, along with an evaluation of the experimental design.

In this activity, students calculate electricity use by state and determine, using Google Earth, how much land would be required to replace all sources of electricity with solar panels.

To define the copyright owner for any materials created by Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) employees, contractors, and grantees. To clarify the requirement for open licensing of those materials.

This policy will allow school districts, Educational Service Districts, and members of the public, to realize the educational impact from the substantial investments the state, the federal government, and private foundations have made (and will continue to make) in educational resources created by OSPI employees.

This policy is not retroactive and does not pertain to work created before the effective date on this document.

While each state education agency is organized differently and specific job titles vary, SETDA members include state educational technology directors and digital learning leaders, as well as state and regional curriculum and instruction, assessment and professional development leaders committed to advancing technology-enabled school reform and improvement strategies in their respective states and nationally. SETDA members do this through policy development and implementation, including through technical assistance to – and direct support of – traditional public and charter school districts across their state.

Students will practice recognizing family member terms (i.e. abuela: grandma), describe family members, and accurately use vocabulary related to families in Spanish. They will acquire information about another individual’s family and will practice describing their own and others’ family members.

Storytelling: A Way to Introduce and Express Oneself
“Storytelling is a tool to express who you are, an avenue to share a memory or experience, a medium to teach values and cultural differences….Storytelling is by far the best to communicate one’s thoughts and tell one’s story” (Keaise, 2014, p. 53).

This OER shows how one professor incorporated storytelling into student introductions. Additionally, this exercise was used as part of the pedagogy to teach about human diversity, culture, understanding and acceptance. Storytelling provided an effective foundation for students to connect with classmates, build relationships and develop trust and respect, the foundation behaviors of good human relations.

Materials which will be included in the OER are listed below:
1) A brief literature review on storytelling, supporting this exercise;2) A visual diagram and brief description of the storytelling process which includes a dyadic encounter, small group discussions and a large group presentation; 3) Step-by-step instructions on how to integrate storytelling into student introductions; 4) Examples of student introductions; 5) A summary of student perceptions about the storytelling exercise.

This proposal is designed to review literature and investigate the successes of conducting action research or community-based participatory research (CBPR) in marginalized communities. In particular, could this inform MSU Northern college faculty and staff in adopting policies, processes and activities including implementing CBPR practices and projects into their classrooms? In fact, could this collaborative approach where community members, organizational representatives and researchers engage in all aspects of the investigation and contribute expertise, decision making and ownership be woven into the fabric of course work, program outcomes and ultimately student success? Would this outcome adjustment improve engagement and learning of all students including their American Indian students? Finally, might MSU Northern faculty be interested in developing the skill sets to support a curricula upgrade to course and program requirements once they acquire the knowledge, skills and support to make this transition?

With lab class sizes reaching 20:1, instructors are unable to view how students are satisfying learning objectives. This leads to poor student performance and unrealistic outcomes. This activity was achieved by instructor generated lab videos that students then duplicated. This modeling technique leverages technology that students are already using and helps bridge the gap between industry expectations and college learning outcomes. By demonstrating the exercises, students can then “model” how it’s done in the industry. This provides the educator one on one interaction without physical presence of the educator.