Title: 'I guess' to 'I get': an effective use of smart technology to transform undergraduate statistics education

Authors: Bo Han; Victor R. Prybutok

Addresses: H-E-B School of Business and Administration, University of the Incarnate Word, 4301 Broadway CPO 400, San Antonio, Texas, 78209, USA ' College of Business, University of North Texas, P.O. Box 305249, 1155 Union Circle, Denton, Texas, 76203, USA

Abstract: With the prominence of mathematics, statistics is playing an increasingly important role in an undergraduate student's academic and professional careers. Numerous studies have found that a large number of students are fearful of taking statistics classes because of the subject's complexity. Several emerging technologies, including the most recent smart mobile technology, were adopted to assist students with learning. In the current study, we propose a pedagogical innovation to the standard format of statistics homework assignments, which are one of the most important components in developing a student's critical thinking abilities. We then offer a corresponding solution of effective use of smart technology to implement the new pedagogy. Analysis of the student feedback provided insights for the future research on how to use smart technology to effectively improve undergraduate statistics education.

Keywords: undergraduate education; statistics education; statistics pedagogy; smart technology; learning applications; probability education; higher education; critical thinking; homework assignments; mobile technology; mobile learning; m-learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIOME.2012.051622

International Journal of Information and Operations Management Education, 2012 Vol.5 No.1, pp.78 - 85

Received: 25 May 2012
Accepted: 12 Oct 2012

Published online: 29 Nov 2014 *

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