A new teaching approach for improved learning of elementary statistics

• Main Authors: Zain, Zakiyah, Abdullah, Suhaida, Rusdi, Kamal Khalid, Murat, Indra Zuhdi
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: L Education (General)
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/22568/1/ICSoTL%202017%20161%20164.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/22568/; http://www.seml.uum.edu.my/images/Proceedings/Proceedings.pdf

Elementary Statistics is offered as a servicing course every semester, involving over a thousand students in classes of about fifty.The persistent issue of high failure rates among students continues to add burden to resources as the repeaters must retake the course until they pass in order to graduate.This study revisits the teaching and learning methods and proposes a new teaching approach by incorporating e-learning and student-centred learning to engage students effectively for better understanding and promote critical thinking.The new teaching approach was effective in improving overall affect: students’ feelings about statistics.Students felt more comfortable in class, and the teaching and learning process became more fun.Their anxieties towards statistics were also reduced when they realized that the calculations were not that complex.To conclude, a student-centered learning approach with daily motivation and continuous quality improvement efforts is possible to change the attitudes of students towards statistics: from fear to fun effective learning.