Well, I'm a little behind in my posting, so the next couple of posts are going to be out of order with respect to what we covered (or will cover) in class, so please bear with me.
The most dramatic learning experience for me was while I was at Pitt working on my masters. It was in the first semester of the second year of the two year program, and I was all ready to get out of there with my masters and call myself done with school FOREVER. After two semesters of taking classes that I only marginally understood what was going on, I was forced to take a Statistical Consulting class as part of my degree requirement.
This class is set up as follows: For the first two weeks, you talk about consulting and meeting clients in broad terms, and then the instructors says "You have a meeting on this date, and at this time". The client then lays out his statistical problem and you attempt to solve it using whatever knowledge you may have accumulated over your brief life in statistics (which was about a year for me). The class, which had a size of 6, then presented their project to the class and we were all able to comment or ask questions of the consultant to not only further his knowledge but help them with their project.
My first client had an interesting problem, but no big lights went on in my mind and I struggled to get through the project (it was a reliability problem, and I don't care about that topic that much). However, I received a second client a short time later and the project that I was given KICKED ASS.
To analyze the data correctly, I had to do a test of equivalence on a longitudinal, random coefficient model. For all the non-statisticians, it's a difficult model to conceptualize let alone analyze, and admittedly I did not analyze it correctly (I did a test of difference, not equivalence, but spun it well ;-) ).
Now, I'd be lying if I said this particular topic was "the most dramatic learning experience", but as part of this class it was. The whole class was that experience because it showed me a bunch of things. First of all, it showed me how much I actually learned in the first year of grad school. But it also showed me that I actually like statistics, and love being able to put real-life problems into mathematical solutions and use "hard-science" constraints to come to and objective decision**.
This realization didn't come into play just from the aforementioned project, but from all of the topics presented in class. It was clear to me that I was not only grasping the projects assigned to me, but the projects' of the other students as well. This allowed my confidence to grow to a point that I was able and willing to submit my analysis plan to my professor, who just happened to be the most intimidating man on earth (I'm not even being sarcastic, I'm still scared of him). And it was this project that showed me that I may actually be good at this statistics thing, and I may actually like it.
So what did I learn from this class. Two things: The first, as I mentioned before, is that I actually like statistics, especially the applied part, and I want to continue in the field. That's important because that'll be my job.
The second is much more important. I learned that for me to truly enjoy something, and to really excel in it, I need to immerse myself in that topic. I found out that my personality is such that I can't window shop for things that I like. I need to go in, take everything for a test drive, and discard the things that I don't like. And once I do find something I like, I need to work to be able to incorporate as an important part of my life.
**The distinction between "squishy-science" and "hard-science" was made by a colleague in her blog. I have a whole posting on how it applies to my field in my head, but have yet been able to sit down and work through some of the philosophical nuances that I need to complete some arguments. Catch her blog here.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Why the School Superintendents Screwed Up (big time)
This past Wednesday, Richmond received about 2 inches of snow during morning rush hour. Over 150 accidents were reported during this time. While all of those accidents were unfortunate, those actions were not the most distressing part of the snow event (2 inches is not a storm).
The most distressing action was performed by the school superintendents and the VCU brain trust. After seeing how much travel was snarled by the snow squall, some superintendents as well as VCU canceled school. This occurred between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning. This is of course after
a) Students were either in class or on the buses.
b) Faculty and staff were either in school or on their way.
c) Parents of the students were going to work or on their way.
So after all of these people were going about their normal workday, all of a sudden their day was thrown on end. They had to pick up their kids from school, worry about getting home, or flat out turn around and go home. Making this decision at the time was foolish, and it could be argued bordering on reckless.
Obviously, the decision to cancel school was made to protect the students and parents in the treacherous driving conditions that were encountered that morning. BUT EVERYBODY WAS ALREADY IN DANGER!!!! I'm not making fault at the decision to cancel school, but at the time, the decision was not in the best interest of anybody and led to more confusion.
All the superintendents needed to do was to make 1 phone call that would have kept those they were charged to protect safe. Call the weatherman. Here's how the conversation would go:
Superintendent: Good morning Mr. Weatherman. You are up early at 6:00am.
Weatherman: Yes, I love weather.
S: I was wondering what the weather for the morning commute was going to be. Any suggestions?
W: Well, according to my Super-Dee-Duper Radar, it's going to horrible. Considering Richmond does not salt the roads, the commute is going to be very slippery.
S: That's not good. Do you have any idea how long the snow will last?
W: Just during the rush hour. It looks like we're in for just a quick shot of snow, but it should be nice once it clears.
S: Well, I'm going to act conservatively, and cancel school. Thanks!!!
W: No problem, I'm just your handy-dandy weatherman.
[Conversation ends at 6:01, schools are officially canceled by 6:10, nobody is endangered]
So, let's act rational. If school isn't canceled by 6:30, school is still on. Any other choice endangers the well-being of everyone involved.
The most distressing action was performed by the school superintendents and the VCU brain trust. After seeing how much travel was snarled by the snow squall, some superintendents as well as VCU canceled school. This occurred between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning. This is of course after
a) Students were either in class or on the buses.
b) Faculty and staff were either in school or on their way.
c) Parents of the students were going to work or on their way.
So after all of these people were going about their normal workday, all of a sudden their day was thrown on end. They had to pick up their kids from school, worry about getting home, or flat out turn around and go home. Making this decision at the time was foolish, and it could be argued bordering on reckless.
Obviously, the decision to cancel school was made to protect the students and parents in the treacherous driving conditions that were encountered that morning. BUT EVERYBODY WAS ALREADY IN DANGER!!!! I'm not making fault at the decision to cancel school, but at the time, the decision was not in the best interest of anybody and led to more confusion.
All the superintendents needed to do was to make 1 phone call that would have kept those they were charged to protect safe. Call the weatherman. Here's how the conversation would go:
Superintendent: Good morning Mr. Weatherman. You are up early at 6:00am.
Weatherman: Yes, I love weather.
S: I was wondering what the weather for the morning commute was going to be. Any suggestions?
W: Well, according to my Super-Dee-Duper Radar, it's going to horrible. Considering Richmond does not salt the roads, the commute is going to be very slippery.
S: That's not good. Do you have any idea how long the snow will last?
W: Just during the rush hour. It looks like we're in for just a quick shot of snow, but it should be nice once it clears.
S: Well, I'm going to act conservatively, and cancel school. Thanks!!!
W: No problem, I'm just your handy-dandy weatherman.
[Conversation ends at 6:01, schools are officially canceled by 6:10, nobody is endangered]
So, let's act rational. If school isn't canceled by 6:30, school is still on. Any other choice endangers the well-being of everyone involved.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Lesson strategy
For this post, I am to describe a lesson planning strategy that incorporates the different learning styles of the students as well as the concepts of "single loop" and "double loop learning". For those unfamiliar with the topics, single loop learning is akin to a thermostat that attempts to keep the air at a constant temperature, while double loop learning is like a thermostat that not only attempts to keep a constant temperature, but makes a judgment as to why any given temperature setting is appropriate. As a biostatistician, I will stay within my discipline in describing a hypothetical lesson. As such, it is important to realize that most students fall into two categories: those who are better at theory than applied methods or vice versa.
An introduction to any lesson will begin with a motivation into why the topic is being presented. A theoretic (mathematical) framework will be constructed and the theory to a particular statistical method will be described. However, the proofs or theoretical framework will not be exhaustive as the missing pieces will be assigned for homework. Starting with a mathematical framework will ensure that all of the students are on the same page notation-wise and know generally the steps needed to complete their homework.
After the theory is presented, an applied problem using the recommended software will be undertaken in the class. This is enables the students who are better in theory to understand and learn how to run the analysis with real data.
Depending on the structure and level of the course, limitations and other issues regarding the analysis will be touched upon. Optimally, this will be done in groups, but a quick presentation and a homework problem or two could be assigned in place of a group discussion.
This framework benefits both the theory and applied orientated students in that both get a solid background of the topic and an appreciation of both the theory and applied nuances of the topic. It benefits the students who are passive learners in that a lot of material is presented to them while satisfying the active learners since many advanced topics need to be completed as homework assignments. If group work is assigned, those students who learn better in groups are satisfied, however group work would be encouraged on all assignments. Further more, a combination of oral presentations and thorough notes on a whiteboard will benefit both oral and visual learners.
Simply grading the assignments and attempting to make up any material that is lacking would be an example of single loop learning. Double loop learning would entail assigning two levels of homework: Medium and Hard. Medium questions should be able to be completed without assistance from the instructor. Hard questions could be done without the assistance of the instructor, but would most likely need some further explaining. The one-on-one meetings would give the instructor a chance to view the deficiencies of the individual students as well as the instructor.
Remediation is a tricky subject if it is found that a deficiency lies in the class. In a perfect world, we could go back and recover a topic, or schedule an extra class to go over the material. But in the real world that would never work. Therefore I am not really prepared to answer that question.
An introduction to any lesson will begin with a motivation into why the topic is being presented. A theoretic (mathematical) framework will be constructed and the theory to a particular statistical method will be described. However, the proofs or theoretical framework will not be exhaustive as the missing pieces will be assigned for homework. Starting with a mathematical framework will ensure that all of the students are on the same page notation-wise and know generally the steps needed to complete their homework.
After the theory is presented, an applied problem using the recommended software will be undertaken in the class. This is enables the students who are better in theory to understand and learn how to run the analysis with real data.
Depending on the structure and level of the course, limitations and other issues regarding the analysis will be touched upon. Optimally, this will be done in groups, but a quick presentation and a homework problem or two could be assigned in place of a group discussion.
This framework benefits both the theory and applied orientated students in that both get a solid background of the topic and an appreciation of both the theory and applied nuances of the topic. It benefits the students who are passive learners in that a lot of material is presented to them while satisfying the active learners since many advanced topics need to be completed as homework assignments. If group work is assigned, those students who learn better in groups are satisfied, however group work would be encouraged on all assignments. Further more, a combination of oral presentations and thorough notes on a whiteboard will benefit both oral and visual learners.
Simply grading the assignments and attempting to make up any material that is lacking would be an example of single loop learning. Double loop learning would entail assigning two levels of homework: Medium and Hard. Medium questions should be able to be completed without assistance from the instructor. Hard questions could be done without the assistance of the instructor, but would most likely need some further explaining. The one-on-one meetings would give the instructor a chance to view the deficiencies of the individual students as well as the instructor.
Remediation is a tricky subject if it is found that a deficiency lies in the class. In a perfect world, we could go back and recover a topic, or schedule an extra class to go over the material. But in the real world that would never work. Therefore I am not really prepared to answer that question.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Ideal Learning Relationship Revisited
After class discussion on a metaphor of the ideal between student and instructor I realized a couple of things:
1. Writing a blog, or anything in general won't work when you're very tired. Especially if you need to be convincing.
2. My metaphor still works. Especially because my metaphor was aimed at the ideal relationship between graduate student and instructor. This is an easier relationship to define because a graduate student has a desire to be there, because if they don't want to be there their life would be horrible. A metaphor for the ideal relationship between an undergrad and instructor is a bit more difficult to pin down.
PINS!!!! OK, here we go. The ideal relationship between an teacher and an undergrad student is like bumper bowling. The student is the ball, and the bumpers are the instructor. The goal of the student is to gain knowledge, and in this metaphor it is to knock down all the pins.
Now, as long as the bowling ball is going marginally straight, it will make it to the end of the lane and knock down some pins, usually more than five. Sometimes the ball doesn't need the bumpers, and can do just fine, but the bumpers act like a safety valve for either piece of mind or damage control. Other times the bumper is important and gives the bowler confidence to not use the bumpers in the future (ok, the bowler the student too, I never said I was good at metaphors). Some times that ball is just not going to knock over pins regardless if the bumpers are there or not, and maybe curling or tennis should be considered...
1. Writing a blog, or anything in general won't work when you're very tired. Especially if you need to be convincing.
2. My metaphor still works. Especially because my metaphor was aimed at the ideal relationship between graduate student and instructor. This is an easier relationship to define because a graduate student has a desire to be there, because if they don't want to be there their life would be horrible. A metaphor for the ideal relationship between an undergrad and instructor is a bit more difficult to pin down.
PINS!!!! OK, here we go. The ideal relationship between an teacher and an undergrad student is like bumper bowling. The student is the ball, and the bumpers are the instructor. The goal of the student is to gain knowledge, and in this metaphor it is to knock down all the pins.
Now, as long as the bowling ball is going marginally straight, it will make it to the end of the lane and knock down some pins, usually more than five. Sometimes the ball doesn't need the bumpers, and can do just fine, but the bumpers act like a safety valve for either piece of mind or damage control. Other times the bumper is important and gives the bowler confidence to not use the bumpers in the future (ok, the bowler the student too, I never said I was good at metaphors). Some times that ball is just not going to knock over pins regardless if the bumpers are there or not, and maybe curling or tennis should be considered...
Snow in Virginia sucks...
So, apparently I haven't been able to post things as often as I'd like. Too busy I guess...
Anyways, we've received 11.5 inches of snow since my last post and this town went INSANE. Not only do Virginians not now the art of street clean-up, but they also don't realize that the city needs to be plowed during the hours of 8:00pm and 5:00am. This way there are no cars on the road while they plow, and you are able to do a whole city in one night, especially when it stops snowing at 7:00pm...
Other things that pissed me off while it snowed:
-People who don't shovel their sidewalks. If you don't shovel, it'll turn to ice pretty quick. They deserve to be sued by somebody who slips and cracks their head.
-People who think that snow is like rain, and it's easy to drive through it. GET OFF THE ROAD!!! (not that people in VA can drive in the rain, but that's for another post)
-(related to the above comment)People who floor the accelerator to get out of snow. All that does is kill your engine, wear just one of your tires, and makes it harder to get out.
-People who act like they've never seen snow/made a snowman/gone sledding. Now, I know its Virginia, but really?!?!?!?! In my expert one and a half years of living in Virginia, I gather we average about one snowstorm per year. We've had two (and possibly a third this upcoming weekend) this year. A snow storm should be as surprising as my birthday, or Christmas. It happens. Enjoy it, have fun. But please don't tell me how this doesn't happen in Virginia (3 times in a year and a half), making overly large snowmen kicks ass (ehh, a drunk guy usually knocks it down), and how sledding is the best thing ever (I know it is!), . But it'll melt, and probably pretty quick in this semi-tropical climate.
-People who think the world is gonna end b/c it snowed. Again, I realize it's Virginia. But look, the stores reopened, the electricity came back on(it actually never went off), roads were cleared (albeit slowly), and the plagues of locusts were avoided. I bet each person $0.10 this will happen the next time it snows (I expect $0.60 from this bet).
So, maybe I'm just a bitter ex-New Yorker, but the world goes on.
And a little hint: Don't eat the yellow snow!!!
Anyways, we've received 11.5 inches of snow since my last post and this town went INSANE. Not only do Virginians not now the art of street clean-up, but they also don't realize that the city needs to be plowed during the hours of 8:00pm and 5:00am. This way there are no cars on the road while they plow, and you are able to do a whole city in one night, especially when it stops snowing at 7:00pm...
Other things that pissed me off while it snowed:
-People who don't shovel their sidewalks. If you don't shovel, it'll turn to ice pretty quick. They deserve to be sued by somebody who slips and cracks their head.
-People who think that snow is like rain, and it's easy to drive through it. GET OFF THE ROAD!!! (not that people in VA can drive in the rain, but that's for another post)
-(related to the above comment)People who floor the accelerator to get out of snow. All that does is kill your engine, wear just one of your tires, and makes it harder to get out.
-People who act like they've never seen snow/made a snowman/gone sledding. Now, I know its Virginia, but really?!?!?!?! In my expert one and a half years of living in Virginia, I gather we average about one snowstorm per year. We've had two (and possibly a third this upcoming weekend) this year. A snow storm should be as surprising as my birthday, or Christmas. It happens. Enjoy it, have fun. But please don't tell me how this doesn't happen in Virginia (3 times in a year and a half), making overly large snowmen kicks ass (ehh, a drunk guy usually knocks it down), and how sledding is the best thing ever (I know it is!), . But it'll melt, and probably pretty quick in this semi-tropical climate.
-People who think the world is gonna end b/c it snowed. Again, I realize it's Virginia. But look, the stores reopened, the electricity came back on(it actually never went off), roads were cleared (albeit slowly), and the plagues of locusts were avoided. I bet each person $0.10 this will happen the next time it snows (I expect $0.60 from this bet).
So, maybe I'm just a bitter ex-New Yorker, but the world goes on.
And a little hint: Don't eat the yellow snow!!!
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