Publication Date
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Frank Ciarallo (Committee Member), David Kender (Committee Member), Yan Liu (Advisor), S. Narayanan (Other)
Degree Name
Master of Science in Engineering (MSEgr)
Abstract
Statistics is of critical importance to engineers. However, many engineering students struggle to grasp the meaning of statistical concepts and the idiosyncrasies of statistical methodologies. Because of this problem, instructors of statistics are constantly searching for better ways to help students understand statistical concepts. The goal of this project is to design and develop web-based lessons that use graphics and animations to enhance the effectiveness of students' learning of statistical concepts.
Lessons of three important statistical concepts have been developed for this thesis - normal distribution, central limit theorem and confidence & tolerance intervals - following well-recognized instructional design development processes and principles. A between-subject experiment was conducted with 20 freshmen engineering students as research participants. The experimental results suggest that compared to the traditional instruction method, the web-based lessons can significantly enhance students' learning outcomes (by 29.8%) and their satisfaction with the learning process (by 19.2%).
Page Count
105
Department or Program
Department of Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering
Year Degree Awarded
2010
Copyright
Copyright 2010, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
