Instructors' Notes for Hypothesis Testing Tutorial
How the Hypothesis Testing tutorial fits into the typical statistics course:
WISE tutorials are modularized to allow instructors to pick or choose modules that best
fit their course needs. Each module is a self-contained lesson that does not depend on
any of the other modules, although some specific prerequisite information may
be required.
The Hypothesis Testing (HT) Tutorial assumes that students have some familiarity with
basic statistics, such as means, standard deviation, and variance, and are able to
calculate standard errors of the mean and z-scores. Students
should also have an understanding of the normal distribution, sampling
distributions, and the Central Limit Theorem.
When to use the HT tutorial? Instructors can go over
hypothesis testing after sampling distributions and the Central Limit
are discussed, and before introducing power and effect sizes. Completing
the WISE tutorials on the sampling
distribution of the mean and on the Central Limit
Theorem prior to the HT tutorial may enhance students' experience with using this
tutorial. After this tutorial, students may go on to the WISE
Power Tutorial.
Suggestions for Using the HT Tutorial
- Class demonstration/Lecture aid
- Lab assignment
- Homework assignment
- Review assignment
There are many ways in which the HT Module can be inserted into your lesson plan.
Your choices may depend on students’ level of computer literacy, computer
resources available at your school, and class time restrictions. Here are a few
suggestions:
1. Pre-lecture Assignment
Assign the module as homework to introduce hypothesis testing to students. This
will allow you to use more class time for in-depth discussions and activities
instead of a full lecture. Students may download and print the
Tutorial
Worksheet (which contains the multiple choice questions in the
tutorial as well as spaces for written explanations of their responses)
that they may complete and submit.
2. Live Demonstration
As part of either a lecture or guided lab assignment, the Power applet itself may be
used by the instructor to demonstrate visually different aspects of the sampling
distribution, z-scores, and statistical significance. Some instructors may
choose to step through parts or all of the tutorial in a demonstration mode. This
demonstration may serve as a stimulus for classroom discussion and/or introduction
to an assignment for students.
You may wish to use the Sampling Distribution Applet to demonstrate
how sample size affects the variability of sample means. Power Applet to
illustrate concepts that will lead to discussion of statistical power.
Access:
SDM Applet |
SDM Applet Instructions |
Power Applet | Power Applet Instructions
Demonstration guides for:
Sampling Distribution of the Mean Applet
| Power Applet
3. Post-lecture Assignment
After your presentation on hypothesis testing, the module can be used to demonstrate lecture
points and give students practice using the concepts. This applet allows students to
gain a perspective on the concepts that complement a lecture or other presentations.
The more perspectives students are exposed to in the course of instruction, the more
likely they are to understand and retain the material. Students
may download and print the Tutorial
Worksheet that they may submit to you.
For more information, see the
Introduction to the tutorial.
4. Tutorial Worksheet
The main portion of the module is designed
to give students feedback without evaluating their performance. The multiple-choice
questions provide feedback and explanations on both correct and incorrect responses. However, no
record is kept of student answers. You may have your students
download and print the Tutorial
Worksheet so that they may produce a written record of their
responses, calculations, and explanations. They may submit this to
you for evaluation.
5. Supplemental Activities
- Final Quiz on Hypothesis Testing -
Paper quiz on an
application of z-test similar to the tutorial that also
examines a two-tailed test. No answers to the questions are posted
online.
- Online Quiz on p-values -
The follow-up
online quiz
assesses understanding of how to interpret hypothesis test results.
There are two versions of this quiz. Each version contains
seven true-false questions that ask for short-answer essays,
designed to examine conceptual understanding of the topic. Feedback
and explanations are provided at the end of the quiz.
WISE modules are designed as self-contained lessons that students can use with little,
if any, guidance. If you are concerned that students may not feel comfortable using web
pages and applets, you may consider using the module as part of an in-class activity. Most
students complete the module in 40 - 50 minutes.
Your Feedback
We hope this tutorial is helpful for you and your students, and we welcome your
feedback on this tutorial and other aspects of the WISE site. Please send your comments
to wise@cgu.edu.
Questions, comments, difficulties? See our
technical support page or contact us: wise@cgu.edu.
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