Electives

 

The purpose of this course is to provide a one term introduction to the methods of differential and integral calculus. Although the course gives considerable attention to the concept of a limit, the emphasis is on developing skill and proficiency in the basic techniques of differentiation and integration rather than on the underlying theory. After successfully completing this course, students will be better prepared to take either the advanced placement calculus course in their senior year of high school, or a standard calculus course at the college level.

Statistics – MSS11

 

Pre-requisite: This course is designed for students who wish to earn a 6^th math credit and have completed (passed) the first semester of Advanced Algebra (MRS21).

This course will satisfy the stated credit requirement, while providing students with an opportunity to discover and apply the discipline of Statistics to solving real world problems dealing with data.

Statistics (MSS11) is a course designed with the aim of enhancing students conceptual understanding and reasoning in Statistics, thereby increasing their college readiness and providing them with real analytical tools to relate to the demands of the world around them. It is an established fact that colleges and universities, more and more, not only do they expect students to have four (or more) years of high school math, for most majors they require students to take a course in statistical reasoning. This 21st century skill is a reflection of the increasingly data driven world that we live in. The purpose of this course is, therefore, to provide students with a class that introduces them to statistical reasoning in a context that is rich with real world examples likely to spark their interest. Activities and discussion will revolve around questions and applications relevant to such fields as medicine, education, environmental science, business, psychology, sports, politics, and entertainment.

Although successful completion of at least the first semester of the Advanced Algebra course sequence (MRS21), as outlined above, is the formal prerequisite for this Statistics course, the major prerequisites to study Statistics are the ability to think and a willingness to learn—allowing the course to be a fresh perspective into the application of mathematics in the real world while adding a practical dimension to the traditional mathematics curriculum. As an alternative, the course could also provide an opportunity prior to college for strong math students who are interested in learning about statistics but prefer not to take AP Statistics.

Although there is no single textbook for this class, students will be given daily printed material to guide classroom exploration, collaborative learning and discussion. The sequence for the course will largely follow, but not be limited to, the topics in Workshop Statistics: Discovery with Data, 4^th edition, by Allan Rossman and Beth Chance. The focus will be on exploratory data analysis, emphasizing conceptual understanding over computation, specifically stressing statistical thinking behind data gathering and interpretation, while recognizing that some computation is necessary. Students will be exposed to using technology to process data and aid their statistical analytical exploration with graphs. Besides the TI-83/84 graphing calculator, statistical software, such as Fathom and Microsoft Excel will be used. Other reference texts, such as Stats Modeling Your World, 1^st and 2^nd editions, by Bock, Velleman and De Veaux; Stats in your World, 1^st edition, by Dave Bock and Thomas Mariano; Statistics Through Applications, 2^nd edition, by Daren S. Starnes, Daniel S. Yates and David S. Moore; Statistical Reasoning in Sports, 1^st edition, by Josh Tabor and Chris Franklin; and the video-based course Against All Odds – Inside Statistics available online at http://www.learner.org/courses/againstallodds/ will also be used as sources of relevant content and activities.