It’s not unusual to need help with a math or statistics class. It’s not weird at all. Which is, in the end, an element of surprise to me that schools don’t provide a well thought out strategy to help students. In reality, instructors offer office hours, but no one actually attends (or just one or two students), and their purpose is defeated. It is true that students tend to be intimidated by going to the instructor’s office hours and declare that they are lost. They have their pride, obviously. So, it turns out that students will probably feel more comfortable with the help of their teaching assistant. But not all schools have systematic structures for TAs to help students, beyond TA sessions. And then, after they’ve exhausted all other options, they’ll naturally seek help with statistics homework online, much like they’ll buy their statistics textbook through Amazon.

Being useless in a class is never too comfortable. But getting lost in a math class or a class involving numbers is even less comfortable. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a math snob, but it turns out that if a student studies hard enough for subjects other than math, she will eventually get a way to pass tests by writing what the instructor wants. read. On the other hand, in math courses (which include subjects like Statistics and Economics), there is a fine line between needing to understand concepts and being able to make operational use of those concepts in order to be successful in a text. Mathematics and statistics are different animals and require different treatment than other subjects when it comes to remedying a potential gap.

Why do students need statistical help?

This has been a question I ask myself all the time. Finding an answer would be very helpful for students who are really struggling with subjects like Statistics and other Mathematics subjects in general. I reflect on the quality of the methods we use to teach, on the quality of the support materials (I have never much liked the style used in current statistics textbooks), on the quality of the effectiveness of the statistical activities laboratory (or lack thereof).

Sometimes I think that the world no longer wants to know more about work and struggle. People just want to go home and watch football games. Instructors and students alike. When did we lose all interest in things that are difficult and require a great deal of concerted effort to master, but at the same time can provide a sense of total satisfaction when mastered? I see a lot of stats instructors who are totally uninterested in their classes. They act automatically, assigning statistics homework, providing online statistics solutions to questions, for students to check their work. All mechanized.

How can we arouse the curiosity of our students?

We live in a world where everything should be quick and painless. That is inevitable, and that is the reality and we need to accept that reality. The way to try to spark students’ curiosity, beyond just worrying about finding the answers to their statistics homework questions, is to speak their language. It can make learning statistics quick and painless. Well, I think that’s the challenge. Because I think it’s clear that the traditional alternatives haven’t done a great job.