| Title | On-line Homework System for Undergraduate Statistics Courses |
|---|---|
| Faculty/College/Unit | Science |
| Status | Completed |
| Duration | 3 Years |
| Initiation | 04/01/2013 |
| Completion | 01/20/2016 |
| Funding Details | |
| Year 1: Project Year | Year 1 |
| Year 1: Funding Year | 2012/2013 |
| Year 1: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 1: Principal Investigator | Bruce Dunham |
| Year 1: Funded Amount | 62,840 |
| Year 1: Team Members | Bruce Dunham, Instructor, Statistics, Faculty of Science |
| Year 1: Summary | It is proposed to develop an on-line homework system that can be used in undergraduate Statistics courses. The system will be free to the students, unlike existing systems that are linked to textbooks (such as MathXL). The system will allow random selection of problems from sets of problems, customization of problems via randomization algorithms, linkage to statistical software language R (if feasible), automatic grading and instant feedback to the students. UBC currently supports WebWork via the CTLT. This system seems well-suited to adopt for our use. On-line homeworks would be created for undergraduate Statistics courses, commencing with STAT 200 and STAT 241/251. Modules of questions would be created by the development team, these being encoded into WebWork and linked to course management systems as required. Students would attempt numerous on-line homework sets during the term, obtaining instant feedback. This would replace most or all paper-based assignments, and free teaching assistants from grading to more productive tasks. |
| Year 2: Project Year | Year 2 |
| Year 2: Funding Year | 2013/2014 |
| Year 2: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 2: Principal Investigator | Bruce Dunham |
| Year 2: Funded Amount | 60,240 |
| Year 2: Team Members | Bruce Dunham, Instructor, Statistics, Faculty of Science |
| Year 2: Summary | We propose to continue the development and implementation of the WeBWork on-line homework system in undergraduate Statistics courses. In addition to adding to the database of questions that have been created for STAT 200 and STAT 241/251, the aim is to extend the use of WeRWorK to 3xx courses such as STAT 300, MATH/STAT 302 and STAT 305. With the R statistical software integrated into WeBWorK, the platform will support a greater variety and depth of questions in probability and statistics to support undergraduate learning. Workshops will be developed for interested parties to learn more about the WeBWorK system. It is proposed to develop two half-day workshops which, if successful, we could offer via CTLT to support a greater use of WeBWorK at UBC and beyond. |
| Year 3: Project Year | Year 3 |
| Year 3: Funding Year | 2014/2015 |
| Year 3: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 3: Principal Investigator | Bruce Dunham |
| Year 3: Funded Amount | 29,950 |
| Year 3: Team Members | Bruce Dunham, Instructor, Statistics, Faculty of Science |
| Year 3: Summary | The proposal incorporates the continued development and implementation of the WeBWorK on-line homework system in undergraduate courses, and the means by which the web application can be publicized to a wider community. The database of questions that have been created for STAT 200, 241/251, 300, 302, and 305 will be extended, and incorporate resources for use in other courses such at SPPH 400. The R statistical software package has been successfully integrated into WeBWorK, though this requires further refinement and testing to increase functionality and robustness. Workshops to train potential users will be offered both at UBC and at the Statistical Society of Canada's annual conference in 2014, the largest gathering of statisticians in the country. The fruits of the project will also be presented at ICOTS9 in 2014, this being the major conference in statistical education. Resources will be provided to support users, including on-line guides. |
| Project Report | 14-101-TLEF-Dunham-Final-WEB.pdf |