The effects of the use of software on students' understanding of selected statistical concepts

The purpose of this research was threefold: (1) to investigate the effectiveness of computer software as a teaching tool in an introductory statistics course, (2) to investigate whether computer software would increase students' understanding of what simulations are and how they are used, and (3) to determine whether students would object to the extra computer time associated with the course work. This study used an experimental group and a control group. It was conducted at The American University in Washington D.C. Students in the experimental group used software especially designed for sue in basic statistics and the commercial package Mystat as adjunct computer tools in their statistics course. Students in the control group used the computer with the Mystat package only. Both groups had computer related home work assignments. The traditional methods of instruction were utilized during the regular classroom sessions. The results from test questions administered to the two groups were used to decide whether the use of software could make a difference. There was a significant difference (p $=$.002) between the mean scores of the two groups in favor of the experimental group. Questionnaires were administered to the two groups before and after the treatment period. Analysis of the results of these questionnaires showed no significant difference in knowledge of simulations between the groups. On questions measuring students' perception of the usefulness of simulations, the difference in rank sum between the two groups was significant (p $=$.092) at the.10 level in favor of the control group. On questions measuring student objections to extra computer time, the difference in rank sum between the two groups was significant (p $=$.041) at the.05 level with those in the control group objecting less. Student comments indicate that about half of the experimental group felt that the computer was helpful in the basic statistics course. Many objected to the extra computer time even while agreeing that it was helpful. The findings of this study indicate that computer software can be effective as a teaching tool in an introductory statistics course. Additionally, they indicate that the experimental group did not gain a greater knowledge of simulations and they did object to the extra time associated with the computer work.