Category Archives: Uncategorized

SSS: Testing for a real Home Field Advantage

Posted on July 5, 2013 by roughlynormal

So as I continue doing research for my course,  I decided to jump into the vast database at http://www.pro-football-reference.com  and answer a very simple question: Is there convincing evidence that the Denver Broncos have an advantage when playing at their home … Continue reading →

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SSS Card Tossing Experiment, Part 2: is the evidence convincing?

Posted on July 5, 2013 by roughlynormal

So time to analyze some results: Do I have convincing evidence that my ability to toss playing cards into a bowl is better with my left hand than my right hand?  Let’s look at my actual performance: I had an overall … Continue reading →

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SSS Research: Card Flipping experiment, part 1

Posted on July 2, 2013 by roughlynormal

One of the important parts of my “Statistics Sports and School (SSS)” course will involve students creating a research question that can be answered with data collection, and designing a plan to properly collect data.  Anybody who has taught statistics … Continue reading →

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Statistics, Sports and School (SSS): “The Choke”

Posted on July 1, 2013 by roughlynormal

It’s time for the designing process for “SSS” to begin. I’ve been both excited and scared to start constructing a course in “sports research”  since it got approved about six months ago.  Since then, I’ve been attending conferences on undergraduate … Continue reading →

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Statistics, Sports and School: Preliminary Research

Posted on May 22, 2013 by roughlynormal

Now that AP classes are done and the school year is starting to end,  I can now shift some hours in the day towards my “Statistics, Sports, and School”  course. Here’s on my To Do List in the next two … Continue reading →

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Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Posted on May 22, 2013 by roughlynormal

Originally posted on Learn and Teach Mathematics and Statistics:
Pedagogical content knowledge for Statistics Pedagogical content knowledge means knowing how to teach a specific subject, discipline or context. There is a school of thought that the skill of teaching is…

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Possible solutions, version 2: AP Statistics 2013 Free Response

Posted on May 15, 2013 by roughlynormal

Possible Solutions to the 2013 AP Statistics Free Response questions  have been updated.  This new version fixes a couple of wording/  typo issues, and provides a correct solution to #3 (Thanks to the AP Stats teachers at AP Central and … Continue reading →

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Possible Solutions 2013 AP Statistics Free Response questions. Try #1

Posted on May 13, 2013 by roughlynormal

Every year I like to take a stab at the publicly released FR questions for the AP Statistics exam.  I have attached by attempts at these questions.  Please read them,  critique them, provide more elegant answers, rip them apart.  As … Continue reading →

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Prepping for the 2013 AP Stats test: common student errors, Part 3

Posted on May 7, 2013 by roughlynormal

Wrapping up:  Common errors by students for the last two FR questions for our end-of-year assignment. Question 5: In this question,we wanted students to construct correct hypotheses for a test,  state/ compute the correct test statistic,  and make an appropriate decision … Continue reading →

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Prepping for the 2013 AP Stats test: common student errors, Part 2

Posted on May 7, 2013 by roughlynormal

Ok:   two more questions to break down. Question 3:The goal of this question was to identify the correct methods to compute different probabilities in a situation.  Students need to select the correct probability model for computing probabilities:  a normal … Continue reading →

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Prepping for the 2013 AP Stats test: common student errors Part 1

Posted on May 6, 2013 by roughlynormal

At my school, we gave our AP Statistics students a final assignment (notice I don’t quite say assessment) to help them prepare for the 2013 AP Statistics exam on May 10.  This was not an attempt to replicate an actual … Continue reading →

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Afterthoughts: MIT’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

Posted on March 4, 2013 by roughlynormal

Well, that was an eventful two days at the 2013 MIT SSAC.  I blogged about this repeatedly in previous posts.  As a teacher of statistics, what lessons will I take home from this event? Where do I go from here?  Take … Continue reading →

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This was one of my favorite panels of the conference.  If my rambling pseudo transcripts are too much, click some of the cool links. We listened to the leaders in data visualization talking about the craft.  They all start by … Continue reading →

Posted on March 3, 2013 by roughlynormal | 2 Comments

MIT SSAC 2013: True Performance and the Science of Randomness

Posted on March 3, 2013 by roughlynormal

Time for another all-star panel.   Plus, hopefully, some real mathematics/statistics.   Our Moderator is Daryl Morey, GM of the Houston Rockets. He reminds me of Chris Farley on SNL.  Except he’s a GM of a major sports team.   Stars … Continue reading →

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Football Sports Analytics reminds me of using analytics for teaching.

Posted on March 2, 2013 by roughlynormal

Questions Posed by Andrea Kremer of  HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.   For this conference,  some big brass in the NFL came to play.GMS, COO’s, GM’s. Also, Aaron Schatz,  Founder of Football Outsiders.  Kevin Demoff, COO, St. Louis Rams. Scott Pioli former NFL … Continue reading →

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MIT Sports Analytics Conference: Random Ramblings on “Revenge of the Nerds.”

Posted on March 1, 2013 by roughlynormal

I took notes on the “Revenge of the Nerds”  session at the MIT Sloan Sports analytics Conference. .    Here are my random ramblings.   It’s incomplete, possibly wrong, and certainly has typos.   Deal with it. Panel Leader:  Michael … Continue reading →

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“Statistics, Sports and School,” Part 3: beginning research

Posted on February 1, 2013 by roughlynormal

I’ve started my research for my “Statistics, Sports, and School”  course.  I’ve talked about it here  and here in the past.   Here’s a synopsis of my research so far:    I attended the Joint MAA/AMS Mathematics Meetings in San Diego. … Continue reading →

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Posted on December 8, 2012 by roughlynormal

Are there any math teachers out there that would be interested in something like this?

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“Statistics, Sports, and School,” Part 2: It’s a Go!…Now what ?

Posted on November 15, 2012 by roughlynormal

Earlier this year I posted about a new course proposal entitled “Stats, Sports, and School.”   My proposal was accepted!   This means that I will be preparing for this course until it launches August 2013.   Now the Hard Work … Continue reading →

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November 12: A day in the Life of a math/stats teacher

Posted on November 13, 2012 by roughlynormal

The following  stream-of-consciousness account is part of the “A Day on the Life of a Math Educator”  blogging initiative. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. 5:47 am:   I’m up! I have a lot to do today. I’ve … Continue reading →

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