Little App Student Activities
Data and point plots
Introduces the distinction between quantitative and categorical variables through their very different appearances in a point plot.
Common and Rare
Using distributions to examine which values are common and which are rare.
Parameters of the normal distribution
Normal distributions are a *family*. The specific members of the family are identified by two parameters: the mean and the standard deviation.
Shapes of distributions
Introduces terms such as skew, bi-modal, and flat, by reference to the difference of the actual variable from a theoretical normal distribution.
Comparing two groups
Visualizing sampling variation in the difference between two groups.
What is a confidence interval?
Describes the desired behavior of a confidence interval, that is, how to know whether a procedure produces a valid confidence interval.
Comparing two confidence intervals.
Using one-sample confidence intervals on the mean to decide if there's good evidence that two means are different. Statistical experts know to use the two-sample t-test for such problems, but best to build up intuition first and then add mathematical refinements later. And, you'll be able to see for yourself whether the refinements have any practical impact.
Introducing linear regression
Discussion topics to introduce linear regression to your class.
Describing relationship patterns in words and numbers
Translating a regression line into a description in everyday terms
Response and explanatory variables
Reasons to identify one variable as the response and another as the explanatory.
Intervention and prediction
Causality as a reason to identify one variable as the response and another as the explanatory.
How much is explained?
Using R-squared to quantify how much of the variation in a response variable is accounted for by explanatory variables.
Sampling bias and the confidence interval
A confidence interval will cover the population parameter with the right frequency only if the sample is unbiased. This lesson explores sampling bias. (NOTE: The app used here is in the original style of the Little Apps. It has not yet been translated into the current system used for the Apps.)
An Example Activity
The generic form of a Little App Activity document. For reference when adding new activities to the site.