Statistics for Chemistry Students: How to Make a Statistics Course Useful by Focusing on Applications

Abstract

By putting emphasis on applications in two basic statistics courses for chemistry students and chemical engineering students we have enhanced student motivation and increased student activity. In addition to a traditional in-class exam, the students complete a take-home project where statistical problems relevant to chemists are discussed. We give several examples of the course and project material. The main difference between the two courses is that the first is optional, attracting approximately 15 students, while the second is compulsory with approximately 100 students. We discuss how the different requirements affect the learning situation and how separate strategies of teaching have to be developed for the small class and large class situations, respectively.

• Take-home projects
• Small class versus large class situation

Acknowledgement

This project was supported by the Swedish Council for the Renewal of Undergraduate Education. We are grateful to the referees for their valuable comments and helpful suggestions, which considerably improved the paper.