This web site was created for use by students in PSY 501.  The material on these pages is not intended for use by individuals not enrolled in that course.

 

Basic Statistics for Teachers

The techniques of statistics can prove to be valuable tools for teachers ofall subjects. The ability to interpret statistics is advantageous to analyze lab results, book and journal articles, and as an aid in approaching problem-solving scientifically. Statistics will allow you to critically evaluate your students, your teaching, and the results of educational research.

Statistics are unique in two ways:

  1. They best analyze groups or populations. "Thestatisticians' concern is with properties which are descriptive of the group, or aggregation itself rather than with properties of particular members"(Ferguson, 6).
  2. They allow one to compare unrelated material. For example,statistics are useful in comparing the productivity of athletes. The performance of a hockey goalie can be compared to that of a soccer goalie byusing information such as shots taken vs. shots saved. These statistics can be related even though hockey and soccer are very different sports.

 

This web site was originally created by Laura Fouts, Tom Roote, and Jodie Zultowsky, SUNY Cortland.