Lab for Introduction to Statistics; Fall 2013-2016
IDEA Summary Rating (averaged over 4 semesters): 3.9/5
Selected Student Comments:
- Meredith is a great instructor! She obviously really cares about the students and does well to make the class engaging.
- It’s hard to make statistics interesting, but I think you did a great job!
- The Make it Work exercises really helped me to understand SAS and how to code each command.
- Meredith is great! Perhaps making assignments more straightforward and less elongated would be helpful. Some assignments took hours when you could have explained that statistics, results, and interpretation in a concise paragraph.
- Great instructor; horrible course. SAS is just not useful for my academic/career endeavors.
- Go more slowly, especially at the beginning of the course. Grading was sometimes overly picky.
- Change the course time. Fridays at 9 am is terrible.
Reflection:
Most of the complaints students have about this course relates to the choice of statistical package used. That is not an aspect that I actually have control over and, fortunately, most students recognize that. It is gratifying that the changes I have made in an attempt to make the course more engaging (e.g., the Make it Work exercises) are being well received. The current assignments could perhaps benefit from an edit. However, I always keep in mind where my students are heading and what they will need to succeed next, not just in my class. As it happens, I know that the assignments for the next lab course are more detailed and lengthy themselves, so I want the students to be prepared. This is also part of the reason behind my “pickiness”. The other part is attempt to teach students real world skills. Students who are writing up statistical results for me today will be submitting manuscripts for publication tomorrow. Moreover, editors have very specific guidelines. Therefore, I encourage them to pay attention to the smallest details in following requested formats. My lecture pacing is something that I continue to work on. I tend to speak quickly when I get excited about things, and that includes all things Psychology, even Statistics. Finally, I wish these reviews were not anonymous, because I would love to thank the student who paid me the compliment of thinking I have the sort of power to choose my own class time.
Meredith A. Henry, Ph.D. 