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Alomir, Abdullah Mohammed (2016) The experience of teaching statistics to non-specialist ... PDF

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Alomir, Abdullah Mohammed (2016) The experience of teaching statistics to non-specialist students in Saudi universities. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7508/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] The Experience of Teaching Statistics to Non-specialist Students in Saudi Universities Abdullah Mohammed Alomir BSc, MSc Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics School of Mathematics and Statistics University of Glasgow July 2016 Abstract Undoubtedly, statistics has become one of the most important subjects in the modern world, where its applications are ubiquitous. The importance of statistics is not limited to statisticians, but also impacts upon non-statisticians who have to use statistics within their own disciplines. Several studies have indicated that most of the academic departments around the world have realized the importance of statistics to non-specialist students. Therefore, the number of students enrolled in statistics courses has vastly increased, coming from a variety of disciplines. Consequently, research within the scope of statistics education has been able to develop throughout the last few years. One important issue is how statistics is best taught to, and learned by, non-specialist students. This issue is controlled by several factors that affect the learning and teaching of statistics to non-specialist students, such as the use of technology, the role of the English language (especially for those whose first language is not English), the effectiveness of statistics teachers and their approach towards teaching statistics courses, students’ motivation to learn statistics and the relevance of statistics courses to the main subjects of non-specialist students. Several studies, focused on aspects of learning and teaching statistics, have been conducted in different countries around the world, particularly in Western countries. Conversely, the situation in Arab countries, especially in Saudi Arabia, is different; here, there is very little research in this scope, and what there is does not meet the needs of those countries towards the development of learning and teaching statistics to non-specialist students. This research was instituted in order to develop the field of statistics education. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to generate new insights into this subject by investigating how statistics courses are currently taught to non-specialist students in Saudi universities. Hence, this study will contribute towards filling the knowledge gap that exists in Saudi Arabia. This study used multiple data collection approaches, including questionnaire surveys from 1053 non-specialist students who had completed at least one statistics course in different colleges of the universities in Saudi Arabia. These surveys were followed up with qualitative data collected via semi-structured interviews with 16 teachers of statistics from colleges within all six universities where statistics is taught to non- specialist students in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region. The data from questionnaires included several types, so different techniques were used in analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to identify the demographic characteristics I of the participants. The chi-square test was used to determine associations between variables. Based on the main issues that are raised from literature review, the questions (items scales) were grouped and five key groups of questions were obtained which are: 1) Effectiveness of Teachers; 2) English Language; 3) Relevance of Course; 4) Student Engagement; 5) Using Technology. Exploratory data analysis was used to explore these issues in more detail. Furthermore, with the existence of clustering in the data (students within departments within colleges, within universities), multilevel generalized linear models for dichotomous analysis have been used to clarify the effects of clustering at those levels. Factor analysis was conducted confirming the dimension reduction of variables (items scales). The data from teachers’ interviews were analysed on an individual basis. The responses were assigned to one of the eight themes that emerged from within the data: 1) the lack of students’ motivation to learn statistics; 2) students' participation; 3) students’ assessment; 4) the effective use of technology; 5) the level of previous mathematical and statistical skills of non-specialist students; 6) the English language ability of non-specialist students; 7) the need for extra time for teaching and learning statistics; and 8) the role of administrators. All the data from students and teachers indicated that the situation of learning and teaching statistics to non-specialist students in Saudi universities needs to be improved in order to meet the needs of those students. The findings of this study suggested a weakness in the use of statistical software applications in these courses. This study showed that there is lack of application of technology such as statistical software programs in these courses, which would allow non-specialist students to consolidate their knowledge. The results also indicated that English language is considered one of the main challenges in learning and teaching statistics, particularly in institutions where English is not used as the main language. Moreover, the weakness of mathematical skills of students is considered another major challenge. Additionally, the results indicated that there was a need to tailor statistics courses to the needs of non-specialist students based on their main subjects. The findings indicate that statistics teachers need to choose appropriate methods when teaching statistics courses. II Table of contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................. I Table of contents .................................................................................................................. III List of Tables...................................................................................................................... VII List of Figures ......................................................................................................................IX Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................. X Chapter 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background of the study .............................................................................................. 1 1.2. Research problem ........................................................................................................ 2 1.3. Significance of the study ............................................................................................. 3 1.4. Research questions ...................................................................................................... 4 1.5. Overview of methodology ........................................................................................... 4 1.6. The structure of the thesis ........................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2. Literature Review ................................................................................................. 6 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 6 2.2. Approaches to learning and teaching in higher education........................................... 6 2.2.1. Student-centred and teacher-centred approaches to teaching .......................... 6 2.2.2. Improving student learning in higher education .............................................. 8 2.2.3. Course design ................................................................................................. 10 2.3. Learning and teaching statistics................................................................................. 11 2.3.1. What is statistics? ........................................................................................... 11 2.3.2. The difference between statistics and mathematics ....................................... 12 2.3.3. Statistics education ......................................................................................... 13 2.4. Teaching statistics to non-specialist students ............................................................ 15 2.4.1. Statistics in the curriculum of universities ..................................................... 15 2.4.2. Non-specialist students’ views of statistics .................................................... 17 2.4.3. Collaborative learning in statistics ................................................................. 20 2.4.4. Challenges of teaching statistics to non-specialist students ........................... 21 2.4.5. Assessments in statistics ................................................................................ 21 2.4.6. Use of real data............................................................................................... 23 2.5. The impact of the teacher in learning and teaching Statistics ................................... 23 2.5.1. Conceptual understanding in teaching statistics ............................................ 23 2.5.2. Teachers’ statistics knowledge ....................................................................... 24 2.5.3. Teachers’ attitudes toward statistics............................................................... 24 III 2.5.4. Statistics teaching methods ............................................................................ 25 2.6. The impact of technology in learning and teaching Statistics ................................... 26 2.6.1. The role of technology in education............................................................... 26 2.6.2. Technology in statistics courses ..................................................................... 27 2.6.3. The impact of technology on students' statistical learning ............................ 28 2.6.4. Appropriate technology tools ......................................................................... 30 2.6.5. Barriers to technology in statistics ................................................................. 30 2.7. The impact of language in learning and teaching Statistics ...................................... 32 2.7.1. Statistics terminology ..................................................................................... 32 2.7.2. English language at non-English speaking universities ................................. 32 2.7.3. Diversity of students in the classroom ........................................................... 34 2.8. Learning and teaching Statistics in different countries ............................................. 36 2.9. Summary ................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 3. Research Methodology ....................................................................................... 41 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 41 3.2. Research design and methodology ............................................................................ 41 3.3. Research approach ..................................................................................................... 42 3.3.1. Quantitative approach .................................................................................... 42 3.3.2. Qualitative approach ...................................................................................... 43 3.3.3. Mixed methods approach ............................................................................... 44 3.4. Data collection methods ............................................................................................ 45 3.4.1. Questionnaire ................................................................................................. 45 3.4.2. The interview ................................................................................................. 48 3.5. Translation of the data collection instruments........................................................... 49 3.6. The pilot study ........................................................................................................... 50 3.7. Sampling design ........................................................................................................ 51 3.7.1. Characteristics of the universities .................................................................. 52 3.7.2. Sampling of teachers ...................................................................................... 53 3.7.3. Data collection procedures ............................................................................. 54 3.7.4. Difficulties...................................................................................................... 57 3.8. Qualitative data analysis ............................................................................................ 58 3.9. Quantitative data analysis: ......................................................................................... 58 3.9.1. Factor analysis ................................................................................................ 59 3.9.2. Multilevel modelling ...................................................................................... 62 3.10. Ethical issues ........................................................................................................... 68 IV 3.11. Summary ................................................................................................................. 68 Chapter 4. Results of Student Questionnaires ...................................................................... 69 4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 69 4.2. Descriptive statistics .................................................................................................. 69 4.2.1. Demographic information about participants................................................. 69 4.2.2. Participants’ responses to the scale items ...................................................... 73 4.2.3. Using Statistical Software Programmes ......................................................... 75 4.2.4. Using Activities in Statistics Courses ............................................................ 76 4.3. Exploratory Data Analysis ........................................................................................ 76 4.3.1. English Language: .......................................................................................... 78 4.3.2. Using Technology: ......................................................................................... 88 4.3.3. Effectiveness of Teachers: ............................................................................. 98 4.3.4. Relevance of Course: ................................................................................... 100 4.3.5. Student Engagement: ................................................................................... 101 4.4. Multilevel Modelling ............................................................................................... 104 4.5. Factor Analysis ........................................................................................................ 107 4.6. Open-ended Questions ............................................................................................ 121 Chapter 5. Results of staff interviews ................................................................................ 127 5.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 127 5.2. Summary of staff responses question by question .................................................. 129 5.3. Themes .................................................................................................................... 153 5.3.1. The lack of students’ motivation to learn statistics ...................................... 154 5.3.2. Students' participation .................................................................................. 155 5.3.3. Students’ assessment .................................................................................... 155 5.3.4. The use of technology .................................................................................. 155 5.3.5. The level of previous maths and statistics of non-specialist students .......... 156 5.3.6. The English language ability of non-specialist students .............................. 157 5.3.7. The need for extra time ................................................................................ 157 5.3.8. The constraints of administrators ................................................................. 158 Chapter 6. Discussion ........................................................................................................ 159 6.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 159 6.2. Mathematics level of non-specialist students .......................................................... 160 6.3. Students’ engagement .............................................................................................. 162 6.4. The relevance of Statistics courses .......................................................................... 165 6.5. The implications of teachers and their teaching approaches ................................... 166 V 6.6. The implications of technology in learning and teaching statistics ......................... 169 6.7. The implications of English language ability in learning and teaching statistics.... 173 6.8. Summary ................................................................................................................. 174 6.8.1. Question 1: How are statistics courses for non-specialist students taught currently in Saudi universities?................................................................................... 174 6.8.2. Question 2: What are the main challenges that face those teaching statistics to non-specialist students in Saudi universities and how have these have been overcome? ................................................................................................................... 175 Question 3: What are the main challenges that face non-specialist students learning statistics in Saudi universities and how have these have been overcome? ................. 175 6.8.3. Question 4: How could teaching practice in Saudi Arabia be enhanced to reflect appropriate developments in the rest of the world in teaching statistics to non- specialists? .................................................................................................................. 176 6.9. Recommendations ................................................................................................... 177 6.10. Limitations of the study ......................................................................................... 179 6.11. Suggestion for future research ............................................................................... 180 6.12. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 181 References .......................................................................................................................... 183 Appendix A. Information letter for students ...................................................................... 199 Appendix B. Students questionnaire ................................................................................. 201 Appendix C. Information letter for students (Arabic) ....................................................... 207 Appendix D. Students questionnaire (Arabic) ................................................................... 209 Appendix E. Information letter for teachers ...................................................................... 215 Appendix F. Consent form for teachers ............................................................................ 217 Appendix G. Teachers interviews questions...................................................................... 217 Appendix H. Information letter for teachers (Arabic) ....................................................... 220 Appendix I. Consent form for teachers (Arabic).............................................................. 222 Appendix J. Teachers interviews questions (Arabic) ....................................................... 223 Appendix K. Box plot of questions scores for participants from different academic departments 224 ............................................................................................................................................ 224 VI List of Tables Table 3-1 Details of Universities in Eastern Region ........................................................... 52 Table 3-2 The Sample Sizes of Teachers of Statistics .......................................................... 53 Table 3-3 The Sample Sizes of Participants ......................................................................... 55 Table 3-4 The Explanatory Variables .................................................................................. 67 Table 4-1 The Demographic Information on Participants .................................................. 70 Table 4-2 English Language Abilities of Participants ......................................................... 71 Table 4-3 Frequencies, Medians and Standard Deviation of Non-specialist Students’ Responses to Items in the Questionnaire ............................................................................. 74 Table 4-4 Frequencies of Students’ Responses to Using Statistical Software Programs and which Programs are used .................................................................................................... 75 Table 4-5 Frequencies of Responses to Activities that are Used ......................................... 76 Table 4-6 Chi-square test for Group of English Language items versus Predictor Variables .............................................................................................................................................. 79 Table 4-7 Cross-tabulation reQ36 versus universities ........................................................ 80 Table 4-8 Crosse-tabulation reQ37 versus colleges ............................................................ 81 Table 4-9 Cross-tabulation reQ34 versus Hours of study ................................................... 84 Table 4-10 Crosse-tabulation reQ37 versus Number of statistics courses .......................... 85 Table 4-11 Cross-tabulation reQ34 versus Sex of Respondents .......................................... 86 Table 4-12 Cross-tabulation reQ37 versus Students’ Level of Study .................................. 87 Table 4-13 Chi-square test for Group of Technology items versus independent variables . 89 Table 4-14 Cross-tabulation Q29 versus universities .......................................................... 90 Table 4-15 Cross-tabulation Q26 versus Colleges .............................................................. 91 Table 4-16 Cross-tabulation Q29 versus Hours of study..................................................... 94 Table 4-17 Cross-tabulation Q29 versus Number of statistics courses ............................... 95 Table 4-18 Cross-tabulation reQ28 versus Sex of Respondents .......................................... 96 Table 4-19 Cross-tabulation reQ27 versus Students’ Level of Study .................................. 97 Table 4-20 Chi-square test for Group of Teacher items versus independent variables ...... 99 Table 4-21 Cross-tabulation Q17 versus universities .......................................................... 99 Table 4-22 Chi-square test for Group of Relevance items versus independent variables . 101 Table 4-23 Cross-tabulation Q12 versus universities ........................................................ 101 Table 4-24 Chi-square test for Group of Engagement items versus independent variables ............................................................................................................................................ 102 Table 4-25 Cross-tabulation Q32 versus universities ........................................................ 102 VII Table 4-26 Cross-tabulation Q32 versus colleges ............................................................. 103 Table 4-27 AIC and BIC Values for Simple Logistic Models in Questions 26 and 36 ...... 106 Table 4-28 AIC and BIC Values for Logistic Models with variables in Questions 26 and 36 ............................................................................................................................................ 106 Table 4-29 KMO and Bartlett's Test .................................................................................. 107 Table 4-30 Anti-Image Correlation Matrix ....................................................................... 109 Table 4-31 Communalities ................................................................................................. 110 Table 4-32 Total Variance Explained ................................................................................ 111 Table 4-33 Rotated Component Matrix.............................................................................. 112 Table 4-34 Correlation of Factor Five’s Variables ........................................................... 114 Table 4-35 Cronbach’s Alpha of Factors .......................................................................... 115 Table 4-36 Frequencies of Students’ Responses to the Important Things that Helped the Students in Learning of Statistics ....................................................................................... 121 Table 4-37 Frequencies of Students’ Responses to the Important Things that Hindered the Students in the Learning of Statistics ................................................................................. 122 Table 4-38 Frequencies of Students’ Responses to the statistics courses they have studied at another university .......................................................................................................... 123 Table 4-39 Frequencies of Students’ Responses to the Most Important Challenges They Have Faced in Learning Statistics ..................................................................................... 123 Table 4-40 Frequencies of Students’ Responses to What Non-specialist Students Would Like to Change About Statistics Courses ........................................................................... 124 Table 4-41 Frequencies of Students’ Responses to the Desire of Students to Study Another Statistics Course ................................................................................................................. 125 Table 4-42 Frequencies of Students’ Responses to the Reasons of Students’ Desire to Study another Statistics Course ................................................................................................... 126 Table 5-1 The Syllabus of Statistics Courses ..................................................................... 128 Table 5-2 The main subject of Teachers ............................................................................ 129 Table 5-3 The Highest Qualification of Teachers in Statistics .......................................... 130 Table 5-4 The Experience of Teachers in Teaching Statistics ........................................... 130 VIII

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is constructed by the teacher. Knowledge already assimilated by students is not taken into account. Often in a teacher-centred approach, teachers aim to organize their teaching methods and structure the knowledge they are attempting to convey in ways that make learning easier for students (Biggs et
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