Course Syllabus

Course Overview

The major purpose of this course is to explore linear models and problems that can be solved using them. In short, we will repeatedly examine the matrix equation

Y = XB + E

to gain new insights into modeling the world around us.

Course Catalog Description

This course develops further the ideas and techniques that were introduced in STAT 200 relative to regression modeling and experimental design, understood as instances of a matrix linear model. In addition, the student becomes familiar with at least one leading statistical package for performing the intensive calculations necessary to analyze data. Topics include linear, non-linear, and multiple regression, model-building with both quantitative and qualitative variables, model-checking, logistic regression, experimental design principles, ANOVA for one-, two-, and multiple factor experiments, and multiple comparisons.

Prerequisites:

• Introductory Statistics (STAT 200)
• Linear Algebra (MATH 185)
• Differential Calculus (MATH 145 or MATH 151)

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you should

1. know the logic behind linear models;
2. use different definitions of “best” to model relationships;
3. use appropriate models to reflect the experimental design;
4. model dependent variables that are numeric, discrete, dichotomous, and categorical;
5. understand the nomenclature of experimental design;
6. perform and present novel research; and
7. use the R statistical environment to perform statistical analyses.

Required Materials

Behavioral Expectations

If your question is “What will it take to succeed in this course?” then the answer is “Being a good student.” In my experience, your ability as a student is the greatest predictor of success in courses such as this. Being a good student means that you

• read and outline the readings before class;
• make sure your notes make sense to you;
• summarize your notes using diagrams and figures;
• ask questions about the readings during class;
• are an active participant;
• begin homework as soon as it is assigned;
• are aware of course deadlines;
• spend enough time on the material to learn it;
• study for mastery;
• are observant;
• use learning techniques you developed in previous courses; and
• recognize your limitations and work to strengthen them.

You are responsible for all material covered during the class period and all material in the readings and activities. Feel pressured to ask questions during the class regarding the material, since the material covered during the classes may or may not cover everything that is in the text.

As with most courses at this college, you should be prepared to spend 15 hours per week on the coursework for this class. That includes time in class and time outside class. Since you spend 3:30 in class, you should be willing to spend 11:30 outside class in preparing for class, working on homework, reviewing notes,helping each other, determining how this material fits into your life expericences (both past and future), and everything else associated with the course.

Key to Success: You are a full-time student. That means two things. First, you need to spend 40 hours per week on your studies (full-time part). Second, you need to dedicate yourself to learning (student part).

Note that being an A-student is very difficult. It requires you to be a success as a student. Just because you have received A grades in the past does not mean you are an A-student. Being a good student requires a specific set of skills that you may not have. Working on those skills will help will help you in life, since learning is a life-long endeavor. Receiving A grades does not ensure you are an A-student. Similarly, receiving B-(or less)-grades does not label you as not-an-A-student. Being a “student” requires you to exercise a set of intellectual muscles that are only indirectly tested in your college classes— and your career.

Key to Success: Whilst this course focuses on statistics, it actually exists to emphasize your learning. This requires you to realize that college is not about the final grade; it is about preparing you for the future. This means you will be frustrated at times… learn from it. This means you will be struggling at times… figure out how to achieve your goals. This means you will be failing at times… accept that life is tough and that the goal of success requires overcoming barriers.

Academic Integrity (honor)

Knox College is committed to the maintenance of the highest standards of academic integrity, including ethical conduct, of its citizens. Personally, I strive to maintain this level of ethical behavior and integrity in this course, because it encourages you to understand how to advance humanity at the local level. Should I discover that you participated in a behavior that violates academic integrity (e.g., unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, cheating on examinations, fabricating information (lying), helping another person cheat, unauthorized advance access to examinations, altering or destroying the work of others, and fraudulently altering academic records), I will sanction you because your actions undercut the value of Knox College and what it offers to its students (you), its alumni (you), and the world (you).

Please read through the Knox College Honor System to familiarize yourself with what constitutes a violation. Ultimately, this has little to do with cheating. It has everything to do with understanding what it actually means to learn and to represent yourself academically. Your personal value has not increased because of your grades. It increased because of your learning. To cheat is to claim two things about yourself and your skills: I am not able to do this; and I am only focused on today and not the future.

Office of Disability Support Services (odss)

Knox College abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which stipulates that no student shall be denied the benefits of an education “solely by reason of a handicap.” Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities, psychological disabilities, health impairments, hearing, and sight or mobility impairments.

If you have a disability that may have some impact on your work in class and for which you may require accommodations, please contact the awesome Stephanie Grimes in the Office of Disability Support Services (ODSS information; office: SMC E-115; email: sgrimes@knox.edu) so that such accommodations may be arranged. Note that the accommodations are not retroactive; I do not make adjustments until ODSS contacts me to let me know what I can do.

Grading Information

Your grade for this course depends on how well you meet the requirements set forth in the syllabus. The following section provides information about the various grade inputs. All times are Galesburg, IL, time (CT).

Attendance

I expect you to be there for each and every class period. I do not grade attendance. You are responsible for what you miss. If you want a really good way to fail, then stop coming to class.

Key to Success: If you want to succeed, you will be in class early. Spend the time before class looking over your notes from the readings you did. This will help you understand what the professor will be talking about in class on that day.

Assignments (assn)

These are assigned throughout the term. Make sure you start them as soon as you are able. When you get to the real world, your boss will not gauge the assignment based on what s/he has taught you; that is, your boss will base the assignment based on what s/he needs. Now is the time to step up to practice your skills.

In-Class Quizzes

I may infrequently give quizzes in class covering the assigned readings. These will take the first five minutes of the class. I design these to ensure that you have obtained a basic understanding from the readings and have understood previous assignments, readings, lectures, and activities. Be on time, because these cannot be replaced.

Research Project (proj)

There will be a single project in this course worth 100 points. It will cover a much larger swath of the material than any single homework assignment, testing if you can perform the entire statistical analysis process, from start to finish. More information on the term project will be released later.

Examinations

There are two intra-term examinations. The first examination covers through Chapter 3 (50 points); the second, through Chapter 7 (100 points). Both examinations are weakly cumulative (meaning that the current topic is emphasized, but previous one are necessary background information). This includes the appendix material covered. The first examination is entirely “in-class.” The second has an “in-class” part, as well as a take-home part.

Key to Success: You are prepared for an examination when you can do any problem without having to think through the process. An analogy is that you are ready to go to kindergarten when you can tie your shoes without thinking about it. Reflex indicates mastery.

This course has one final examination (100 points). It is fully cumulative, covering all material in this course. It is entirely take-home, which will be given to you the final week of classes and due at the end of our assigned final examination period.

To encourage you to properly study for all examinations, I will have no review sessions (feel free to drop by my office hours and discuss statistics, however). When you show up for the examination, you should have already determined what will be on it. Pay attention to what is said in class.

This policy also encourages you to form study (a.k.a. research) groups to better understand the material. Since statistics is a discipline that depends on both the individual and the group, this forces you to form bonds and to learn from others and to help others and to work together to better understand statistics.

Key to Success: Key to success: Start studying for the final on the first day of classes. Briefly review the current day’s every evening; the current week’s each weekend. Keep working with the material. If you are cramming, you are losing. Remember, you should be willing to spend 15 hours a week on this course. That is what it means to be a “full time” student.

Late Assignments

The last day to turn in any assignment is the last day of classes, March 8, 2022. I accept no late assignments without an excuse that I find acceptable. Such excuses include varsity sports, deaths, dismemberments, and zombie apocalypses.

Key to Success: To be early is to be on time. Plan ahead. As emergencies can (and do) come up, you should aim to have all assignments completed at least 24 hours before they are due. Such a safety margin allows you to focus on the emergency when it happens, thus reducing the stress in your life.

What Counts

As with all courses in college, there are two types: those that offer points towards the grade and those that do not. Be clear that all assignments offer understanding of the material; to claim otherwise is to claim you now more about the material than the professor.

This is a link to the assignments that offer points towards your grade in this course.

In addition to it being a list, it also provides a starting and an ending point for when you are able (should be able) to work on the material in the assignment. Make sure you use this document appropriately.

Overall Course Grade

I calculate your percent in the course by adding all of the points you earned during the semester and dividing by the total number of points that you could have earned. This percentage is then used to determine your final letter grade for the course. I do not round.

Should you ask me what your grade is, or what you need on the final to get a _________ (whichever the grade), I will suggest you calculate it for yourself. You should have the skills to do so.

What it Means to Learn in College

Remember that college is not high school. Strive for a deeper understanding. Bloom’s Taxonomy is helpful here. You may not appreciate it until you do poorly on an examination, but you should be very familiar with it.

Look through it to check the level you were expected to achieve in high school. In college, you need to hit all levels. The higher you get, the better you have mastered the material. For many of you, this is your only chance to master the elementary levels of statistics. Take advantage of me for your edification.

Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is […] the first law of Equivalent Exchange.

Here is a list of the verbs associated with each level. Use them to ensure that you are operating at the college level.

Source: Source: Fractus Learning

Finally, there is an old adage that one never knows more than when teaching. That means you will never understand the material better than when you can teach it to others. You will want to achieve that level. It takes a lot of time, but the activities and labs push you to achieve the higher levels of mastery. Take advantage of them; you are paying for them.

Life tests you first, then gives you the lesson.

Here are three videos that will help you better understand what it means to be a successful adult (college student). They encourage you to think about thinking. “Blowing these off” shows either that you do not care about mastery or that you think I do not know what I am doing.

• Marty Lobdell. If you spend hours and hours of studying, without improving your grades, or information retention, then learn how to study smart by Marty Lobdell. Lobdell taught Psychology at Pierce College in Washington State for 40 years. During Lobdell’s career, he has taught tens of thousands of students and he wants students to succeed. After watching students cram for eight hours or more for a test without any improvement, Lobdell has developed a studying technique that helps the brain retain the information that you are studying in this video.
  
  Link: Study Less, Study Smart
• Matt Walker. Sleep is your life-support system and Mother Nature’s best effort yet at immortality, says sleep scientist Matt Walker. In this deep dive into the science of slumber, Walker shares the wonderfully good things that happen when you get sleep — and the alarmingly bad things that happen when you don’t, for both your brain and body. Learn more about sleep’s impact on your learning, memory, immune system and even your genetic code — as well as some helpful tips for getting some shut-eye.
  
  Link: Sleep is Your Superpower
• Lera Boroditsky. There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world — and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares examples of language — from an Aboriginal community in Australia that uses cardinal directions instead of left and right to the multiple words for blue in Russian — that suggest the answer is a resounding yes. “The beauty of linguistic diversity is that it reveals to us just how ingenious and how flexible the human mind is,” Boroditsky says. “Human minds have invented not one cognitive universe, but 7,000.”
  
  Link: How Language Shapes the Way We Think

One of the most important things you can do to ensure your success in a course is to read the entire syllabus… and understand it. To help encourage you to gain proper habits in college, I will give five points of extra credit for those who email me a meme that makes me smile. Since I am easily amused, this should be an easy five points for you. I like cats and dogs and beavers and clever wordplay. This must be done by the end of the first Sunday of class.

Again, these three videos will help you better understand what it means to be a successful adult (college student). They encourage you to think about thinking. “Blowing these off” shows either that you do not care about mastery or that you think I do not know what I am doing.

If you come across other videos that you find helpful in your learning, please let me know. I will add them to help others.

Course Topic Overview

The actual schedule can be downloaded from the calendar page. You should make sure the assignments are moved to your personal calendar or planner. Remember that one of the goals of this class is to teach you have to be a better student. Your grade at the end of the course will reflect how well you were a student. Don’t believe otherwise. Each of you has the ability to earn an A in this course. Please do so; it makes my life (and everyone’s) easier.

Brief Topic Schedule

Here is a general overview of the course:

• O: Plus Ultra: Review (plus) of statistics, probability theory, and matrices.
• I: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS): Investigation of the requirements and results of assuming that the data follow a linear relation and meet the usual requirements.
• II: Beyond the Ordinary: Investigation of the effects of a set of data not meeting the requirements of OLS. What can we do if the model is heteroskedastic? … does not have a constant expected value? … etc.?
• III: Beyond the Classical Model: How can we move beyond this limear model and use our knowledge of the dependent variable to improve our estimation?
• IIII: Term End: It is the end. What can we do to better understand how far we have come since the start of the term? A lot has been covered; what have you actually learned?