Using social media and creative learning as an alternative to traditional maths and stats teaching

1. Skinning the statistical cat: Facebook as a
tool for maths and stats support.
Mark Feltham
@markfeltham666
Liverpool John Moores University
20th June
#LJMUstats
@sigmahubsHEdW rks

2. The
challenge...
• Fundamentals of Science (Year long)
• Core Module (350 students) across 6 programmes
• Large amount of statistics (SPSS: descriptives, t-
test, Mann-Whitney, paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed
rank test, Pearson, Spearman rank)
• 9 o’clock Monday morning
• Range of learning styles
•How can we make stats more engaging???

3. SO, how did
the module
run?
•Didactic - ‘Traditional’ - Lectures,
workshops, Blackboard, email, phased
individual assessment
• OR,
• Creative - Creative Projects, NO
LECTURES, Social Media, Group or
Individual assessment

4. Stats Guides: printed / interactive

5. Stats Guides: Video Guide

6. Data Collection: observational / data
logging

7. Data Collection: DIY experiments
The output
Result

8. Data Collection: Ornithopters

9. Data Collection: Rube Goldberg
Machines

10. #statsexpo
#doingstatisticsdifferently

11. 10 reasons for using social media in
maths and stats support…
HEdW rks

12. 1.
Everything
is in one
familiar
place
• 99% students are already
on it
• Students do not need to
learn the quirks of a new
platform
• Avoids the ‘clunkiness’ of
VLEs

13. 2. It’s
quick and
easy to
use
• No separate login
• Uploading is easy
• Posting is easier still…
•…and instantaneous
• Mobile version is good

14. 3.
Promotes
engagement
with numerical
reasoning &
problem
solving…
• Breaks down barriers
• Builds rapport and
helps reduce anxiety
over maths and SPSS
• Sense of community to
enable students to ask
for help

15. 4.
Giving
support is…
• Quick
• Easy
• …and you can be as
creative as you like
• So it’s fun!

16. 5.
It can cater
for a variety
of different
learning
styles
• It’s student centric
• Students can
demonstrate their
learning in any way they
wish…
• AND ask for help in
anyway they wish.

17. Student uploads (n=1300)
DOC
PDF
RTF
ODT
PUB
XLS
CRT
JPG
PPT
PNG
BMP
WMV
AVI
MPG
72% OWN
images

18. Uploads, posts and
comments

19. Video Posts

20. 6.
It promotes a
more relaxed
approach to
learning
statistics (fear)

21. The mean (± SE) time of the paper-copters
with 12.6cm and 9cm wings to land on the
ground was 3.362 ± 0.062 and 2.633 ±
0.044 respectively
There was a significant difference in the
mean time taken (seconds) of 12.6cm wings
and 9cm wings of paper-copters (T9.56=18,
p<0.001)
Paper-copters: longer wings increase flight time

22. Hot sauce: no gender bias in spice heat perceptions
The output
Result

23. Electromagnets: effects of different core
materials on strength of magnetic field
Different cores
Raw Data

24. Static Electricity: does hair length affect how
far you can move a coke can?
Figure 1: The relationship between hair length (cm) and the distance
travelled (cm) after rubbing a balloon against the hair and using the static
to push the can.

25. The independent T Test was carried out
and there was a significant difference
in the mean volume (cm3) of gummy
bears in water (n=10) and in salt water
(n=10) (t9.023 = 15.002, P<0.001). The
mean (±SE) volume of gummy bears in
water and salt water were 19.04 ± 0.99
and 2.14 ± 0.04 (cm3) .

26. Vodka Jelly experiments: setting time and effects on
reaction time after consumption

27. How to collect data in your sleep...

28. Killing Time...
Running
Time
The
Movies

29. 7.
Giving
feedback is
timely and
efficient
• Like, Comment, Msg
• Podcasts
• Instantaneous (notifications)
• Targetted (‘Ask an ye shall
receive’…)

30. 8.
Resources
• Providing resources in
any format under the Files
tab is quick and easy.

31. 9.
Students
can decide
when THEY
want to
work
• Students can nip in and
out as often or as little as
they like (pace)
• Can work when they
want to (jobs, childcare)
• Drip-drip… keeps learning
ticking over

32. Most work wasn’t done on lecture
day…

33. ..nor in Uni hours

34. Breakdown of 691 posts (24 hours)

35. 10.
It’s mobile…
think
BYOD4L
• Students can get help
and support wherever
they are.

36. What next?
Mark Feltham
@markfeltham666
Liverpool John Moores University
20th June
#makered
@HEdSpaceUKHEdW rks