Evaluating Attitudes, Skill, and Performance in a Learning-Enhanced Quantitative Methods Course: A Structural Modeling Approach

By Lisa L. Harlow, G. Burkholder, J. Morrow. 2002

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Whereas statistics teachers approach their topic with enthusiasm, students often feel trepidation (e.g., Dauphinee, Schau, & Stevens, 1997). Engaging pedagogy is needed to improve attitudes and performance, thereby increasing interest in quantitative methods. We evaluated relations among attitudes, initial skill, and performance in a Quantitative Methods course that involved students in active learning using a structural modeling approach. Results from data on 129 New England undergraduates largely confirmed hypotheses. First, the means for 2 of 3 quantitative attitudes showed significant improvement over the semester, with reduced quantitative anxiety and increased quantitative self-efficacy. Second, previous math ability and positive quantitative attitudes significantly predicted 38% of the variance in course performance. Third, 75% of the variance in postcourse quantitative attitudes was significantly associated with precourse quantitative attitudes, whereas precourse quantitative skill was not a significant predictor. Fourth, 18% of the variance in course experience ratings was significantly predicted by initial quantitative attitudes such that those with low confidence, high anxiety, or perceived hindrances rated learning activities more favorably. Limitations are discussed and follow-up research is suggested.

Subfields: Education, Statistics and Probability

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a650b4b3463d1f991b8fba78fb5681b9c2cef318

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Citations in the corpus

COGNITIVE AND NON-COGNITIVE FACTORS RELATED TO STUDENTS’ STATISTICS ACHIEVEMENT (2010, background): “…to worldwide introductory statistics courses as attested by Wisenbaker et al. (2000) and Nasser (2004) who used an Arabic version of SATS to assess attitudes toward statistics in Arabic-speaking students enrolled in an introductory statistics course in Israel, by Carmona (2004b) who…”
Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics: Factor Structure Invariance by Gender and by Administration Time (2004, methodology): “In addition, some of the more recent research tested attitude change as part of the evaluation of an innovative course based on elements of the reform movement in statistics education (e.g., Harlow et al., 2002).”
Evaluating an Active Learning Approach to Teaching Introductory Statistics: A Classroom Workbook Approach (2011, background): “Harlow et al. (2002) reported that their participants had significantly more positive attitudes about statistics after completing a statistics course.”
Learning Might Not Equal Liking: Research Methods Course Changes Knowledge but Not Attitudes (2009, background): “In contrast, Harlow, Burkholder, and Morrow (2002) found that students enrolled in a quantitative statistics course showed positive changes in both knowledge of and attitudes toward statistics.”