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Statistics & Research Methods
ways to circumnavigate these barriers. Below we provide a variety of strategies—from
specific class activities to course- or system-wide changes—that can help remove one or
more of these barriers.
Course Activities
There is a bevy of activities that instructors can incorporate into their statistics and
research methods courses to help foster students’ critical thinking. One way to spark
interest in these required courses is to make connections between course content and
students’ own lives. For example, instructors can administer a survey on the first day of
class to learn more about their students (e.g., interests, hobbies) and use this information
to tailor examples, demonstrations, and exam questions to match students’ experiences.
Another activity that can help connect students to the material entails having them create
individual course portfolios (Sciutto, 2002). These portfolios, which reflect students’
personalized approach to understanding course material, enhance learning by having
students compile and integrate course material (e.g., notes, assignments) into an easily
accessible resource they can use when they discuss statistics and research methods in
subsequent psychology courses.
It is also important to confront students’ math anxiety and “statisticophobia” in these
courses (Dillon, 1982). One way to do this might be to have students read sections from
the book Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences, in which Paulos (2001)
addresses misconceptions about math and the importance of understanding probability
theory (see also Paulos, 1995). For example, one frequently held misconception concerns
the “hot-handed” basketball player who has made several shots in a row. When asked to
state the probability that this player will make the next shot, students often give a greater-
than-chance answer (i.e., the probability is greater than 50%, even though one shot is
independent of the next). Paulos devoted a portion of his book to refuting the myth of
“streaks” and discussed how knowledge of probability theory can provide insight into such
occurrences. We have found that students respond positively to this book and enjoy con-
fronting many of the misconceptions they hold. In addition, allowing students to repeat
exams (Friedman, 1987) when they perform poorly, or using self-correcting exams
(Montepare, 2005), can help alleviate students’ anxiety about poor course performance.
Either way, by confronting issues of math anxiety and statisticophobia early on and repeat-
edly, instructors may ultimately have more time to focus on critical thinking skills.
Critiquing journal articles and research reports published in the popular media is
another useful technique for highlighting real-world applications of statistics and research
methods (e.g., Connor-Greene & Greene, 2002; Hall & Seery, 2006). For example, by
evaluating certain claims made by advertisers, students gain an appreciation for the
relevance of statistics and research methods (Beins, 1985). Instructors can also bring in
real-world examples of course material (e.g., newspaper articles) and link these examples
to students’ interests.
Although some instructors prefer to use “canned” data sets in their courses, a potentially
better way to “bring the data to life” is to have students (a) construct their own studies
(e.g., Lutsky, 1993; Thompson, 1994), or (b) replicate classic psychology experiments,