Advice for New and Student Lecturers on Probability and Statistics

Abstract

Lecture is a common presentation style that gives instructors a lot of control over topics and time allocation, but can limit active student participation and learning. This article presents some ideas to increase the level of student involvement in lecture. The examples and suggestions are based on the author's experience as a senior lecturer for four years observing and mentoring graduate student instructors. The ideas can be used to modify or augment current plans and preparations to increase student participation. The ideas and examples will be useful as enhancements to current efforts to teach probability and statistics. Most suggestions will not take much class time and can be integrated smoothly into current preparations.

• Key Words: Active learning
• Contrasts
• Problem Solving
• Statistical Reasoning
• Student Participation
• Teaching Methods

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank numerous students in classes, graduate students lecturers, course assistants, faculty members, and high school and middle school teachers for discussions and suggestions. The author would also like to thank the editor, an associate editor, and two anonymous referees for their suggestions that lead to improvements in the article.