ACTIVE AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OF STATISTICS @ LIBRARY

This project was a collaborative effort by the Department of Mathematics and Science, the Library and the Educational Development Unit of Singapore Polytechnic. The primary objective was to help students sharpen their research skills and rectify statistical misconceptions through clarification of ideas. The secondary objective was to develop their confidence in interpreting and synthesizing information for classroom sharing. A total of 51 students from the Diploma in Information Communication Technology and the Diploma in Computer Engineering participated in the project. The study adopted a team-based approach whereby learning activities were designed around a common theme and the whole learning process took place within the library. Upon the completion of the learning tasks, the students then gathered in the library’s Media Viewing room to present their findings. After the sharing session, students were asked to blog about their experiences. All these activities were candidly captured on video so that students could reflect on their learning. The whole exercise not only reinforced their fundamental knowledge in data collection and data analysis, it also enhanced their interest in learning statistics. Most importantly, the students enjoyed learning in a new environment and they were able to relate mathematical learning to real life applications.