Excel and statistics for teachers - Part 1

Problem 1 : How should a teacher use excel for class evaluation and statistics?

Download two files (excel_start and excel_1) from http://prekladani.capsa.cz/, Folder PCSkills.
The "start" file shows erratic notes on Ss results, saved in WORD.

Task 1 - Editing
Follow the instructions in the word file - your task is to create a highly practical list of students ond their results in Excel format.

TIPS:

1. Consider which headings are missing, and add them.
2. Order the students alphabetically.
3. Find out how to transfer the sheet from word to excel without too much work :)

Task 2 - Statistics

1. Prepare some statistics – AVERAGE results of each test, of each student, the best and the worst mark of each test (MAX, MIN) and of each student.
2. Find out what MODE and MEDIAN mean. Use them.
3. Use the form COUNTIF for finding how many Ss got 1 during the whole term.
4. Express some of your statistical data in graphical forms. Which types of graphs should you use?

INSERT THE FINAL EXCEL FILE INTO YOUR WEBPAGE!

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Problem 2 - Getting research data from online questionnaires

Choose a topic you are interested in; your research field is learning and teaching languages.
Formulate a Research Question or Hypothesis: e.g. "The commuting students have better study results."

Prepare several  survey questions to get data which will help answering your Research Question or confirm your Hypothesis. Include also questions mapping the profile of your respondents (age, field of study...). Write the questions into a text editor, reconsider and reedit.

Go to http://oursurvey.biz/, login.
Put the questions online using survey.biz.
Publish the link in your website - and in the comment to this blog.

Choose a real, interesting topic, be considerate! This task is not meant to become a mock-research. Try to imagine a topic you could develop into a bachelor thesis.


Go to each other's sites and answer the questions. Ask friends (best by email) to fill in your online questionnire. Each of you should have at least 25 respondents.

Prepare an attempt of statistical survey for the next lesson.



Example of a link:
http://login.oursurvey.biz/dotaznik-8581
Example of exported results in capsa - ResearchResults.docx.
Example of survey in capsa - ResearchReport_2013_10_06.docx

Tips for making a valid questionnaire:
- think first; imagine what your respondents could answer
- be clear
- ask about one issue only in a single question

- avoid open-ended (txt) questions - prefer multiple choice
- be consistent - focus on a single topic or problem
- avoid spelling mistakes
- avoid ambiguous questions

Test and questionnaires online

Do you really trust everything you find online?

Supposedly the anwer will be NO - as the question itself is suggestive.

Not only obviously naive people make easy prey for intentionally misleading sites. In may cases, the internet-based information  may be even dangerous, if you apply it without common sense and without a wider knowledge of the problem - e.g. information about health problems connected to hardselling sites.

Nevertheless, we can also find theories and questionnaires are more or less trustworthy, at least for the purpose of orientation. The analysis of personal learning styles is one of them.


Felder - Learning Styles and Strategies Inventory
theory: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSpage.html

Online questionnaire: http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Everybody is active sometimes and reflective sometimes. Your preference for one category or the other may be strong, moderate, or mild. A balance of the two is desirable. If you always act before reflecting you can jump into things prematurely and get into trouble, while if you spend too much time reflecting you may never get anything done.

If you overemphasize intuition, you may miss important details or make careless mistakes in calculations or hands-on work; if you overemphasize sensing, you may rely too much on memorization and familiar methods and not concentrate enough on understanding and innovative thinking.

In most college classes very little visual information is presented: students mainly listen to lectures and read material written on chalkboards and in textbooks and handouts. Unfortunately, most people are visual learners, which means that most students do not get nearly as much as they would if more visual presentation were used in class.

Sequential learners may not fully understand the material but they can nevertheless do something with it (like solve the homework problems or pass the test) since the pieces they have absorbed are logically connected. Strongly global learners who lack good sequential thinking abilities, on the other hand, may have serious difficulties until they have the big picture.






What do the result tell about you?How do you feel about it? Insert your ideas into the comments to this blog entry.


Eager to find more about yourself?
Try to find a reliable, free, online test of IQ and a test of Multiple Intelligences. Insert the link into the comment to this blog.