SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

COURSE SYLLABUS, Spring 2011

MSM 709 Data, Statistics and Probability for Middle School Teachers

3 graduate credits

Course Prerequisite:

Instructor: Dr. Julie Belock

Office: Sullivan Building, room 308C

Office Hours: T 4:00 – 4:30 p.m. or by appointment.

Telephone: (978) 542 - 6338

Email: julie.belock@salemstate.edu

Website: www.salemstate.edu/~jbelock

Course Materials

Required Text: Schmidt, Marty J. Understanding and Using Statistics: Basic Concepts,4^th ed., BVT Publishing, Redding, CA. 2010. Includes Minitab software.

Suggested: TI-83 or TI-84 Graphing Calculator

Course Description:

Teachers are introduced to methods of displaying, collecting and analyzing data. Techniques involved in computing probability and counting principles will also be introduced. Topics will include measures of central tendency and dispersion, histograms, stem-leaf graphs, box plots, binomial probabilities, normally distributed variables, and linear regression.

Course Goals: This course is intended to provide the student with

Tools to be a critical consumer of statistics.
An overview of basic descriptive statistics.
The ability to create and interpret statistical graphs.
An introduction to sampling.
Exposure to statistical computing.
An understanding of the basic properties of probability.
An understanding of the normal distribution.

Learning Objectives

The student will be able to	Assessed on
Compute descriptive statistics for data sets.	Exam I, in-class activities, homework
Find the probabilities of simple and compound events.	Exam I, in-class activities
Determine whether two events are independent.	Exam I, in-class activities
Compute binomial probabilities, means and variances.	Exam II
Find probabilities from the normal distribution.	Final exam, homework
Interpret scatter plots.	Exam II, final exam
Compute and use linear regression lines.	Exam II, final exam
Relate topics studied to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for middle school grades	Curriculum project, in-class activities

Assessment: Exam 1 (tentative date: Tuesday, February 22^nd ) 20%

Exam 2 (tentative date: Tuesday, April 5^th ) 20%

Graded hand-in assignments 15%

Final Exam (Tuesday, May 3^rd ) 30%

Curriculum project 10%

Attendance and class participation 5%

The instructor may also take effort and improvement into account when assigning grades.

Class Policies

Homework is assigned every class, to be completed by the following class. In general, these assignments are not collected. Students are permitted and even encouraged to work together on these assignments.
Students will have at least one class advance notice of any assignments to be turned in for a grade. Unless otherwise stated, these assignments are to be each student’s individual work.
Academic honesty in all aspects of the course is expected. Please see the Academic Integrity Regulations in the Salem State College Undergraduate Catalog.
As a courtesy, students are asked to notify the instructor via email or phone if a class is to be missed.
No makeup exams will be given without a legitimate and verifiable excuse. In the case of an emergency on an exam day, the student should contact the instructor as soon as possible.
All cell phones must be turned off during class.
Students are encouraged to visit office hours to discuss class material if extra help is needed, in addition to asking questions and making observations during class.

College Policy Statement:

Salem State College is committed to providing equal access to the educational experience for all students in compliance with Section 504of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and to providing all reasonable academic accommodations, aids, and adjustments. Any student who as a documented disability requiring an accommodation, aid or adjustment should speak with the instructor immediately. Students with disabilities who have not previously done so should provide documentation to and schedule an appointment with the office for Students with Disabilities and obtain appropriate services.