Program & Abstracts

Lisa Worthy Glendale Community College Previous studies have demonstrated that participation in student research builds critical thinking skills and analytical ability (Lopatto, 2003; Seymour, Hunter, Laursen, & DeAntoni, 2003), and that undergraduate students who participate in research are more likely to finish a baccalaureate degree and go on to graduate school (Kinzie, 2010; Lopatto, 2007; Nagda et al., 2003). We decided to implement this high impact practice with high school students from underrepresented groups in the hopes of encouraging them to attend college, and specifically, to consider science in general, and psychology in particular, as a major.

Anne E. Stuart, Jenna M. Gray, Heidi R. M. O'Connor American International College We redesigned our GenEd statistics course to enhance student engagement and relevance through project-based learning. Students work in small groups (typically 3-4 students) to complete a semester-long project that includes developing a research question, conducting a basic search of the literature, generating testable hypotheses, designing a simple survey to test the hypotheses, collecting survey responses, analyzing the collected data, communicating the findings in a poster, and presenting the poster at a campus-wide poster session. We evaluated student posters using the AAC&U Quantitative Literacy Rubric, revealing an average score of 1.88 (SD = .34). The dimension of Calculation scored the highest, while Assumptions scored the lowest.

Baine B. Craft Seattle Pacific University Psychology majors and minors benefit from access to graduate programs and careers in a wide range of disciplines, both within and outside of psychology (e.g., business and health professions). As a result, students have varying needs when it comes to statistical software. Likewise, students differ in which specific software best aligns with their graduate school and career goals. Given this diversity needs within introduction to statistics classrooms, I have developed a method for teaching introductory statistics that allows students to choose the software (e.g., Excel, JASP, SPSS) that best suits their career and graduate school needs. This approach utilizes asynchronous screencasts and discipline-specific examples while maintaining a sense of community and social presence within the classroom. Furthermore, it can be delivered in online, blended or hybrid, or in-person formats.

Laura Bandi, Johanna Loock, Alyssa Counsell Toronto Metropolitan University This study investigated differences in attitudes towards statistics and statistics anxiety across two sections of an introductory statistics course - one that focused on hand calculations and another that focused on software (jamovi). We found minimal differences on statistics attitudes and anxiety across the two approaches. Instead, instructor rapport was the factor most strongly associated with reduced anxiety and more positive attitudes. Additionally, at the end of the course, students overwhelmingly preferred the method emphasized by their instructor: those in the hand calculations course rated hand calculations significantly higher than those in the software course. Conversely, students in the software course preferred software over hand calculations. This research emphasizes the impact of instructors on shaping students’ attitudes and perceptions in the statistics classroom.

Stefanie S. Boswell University of the Incarnate Word I implemented a flexible due date policy called a psychology research methods course. It extended two due dates up to one additional week for students who did not qualify for another university-related extension. I invited students to complete an anonymous survey about the perceived benefits of the policy. Eleven students responded and reported significantly positive perceptions of the policy’s benefits for management of stress and workload as well as improved engagement and learning. The poster addresses students’ perceived impacts of the policy and also provides recommendations for its implementation. The policy was an easy-to-implement way to support equitable access to course learning and success.

Yueping (Quartney) Qian*, Colm Smith*, Carmen Farrell, Amanda Mae Woodward University of Minnesota Twin Cities Psychological research is increasingly emphasizing transparency and integrity, promoting open science practices such as preregistration, open data, and related platforms (Foster, Deardorf, OSF. 2017). Preregistration, a public document in which researchers outline their research design, hypotheses, and analysis plan prior to data collection, is an important aspect of open science because it can reduce questionable research practices and increase trustworthiness. This study explores how learning about preregistration affects students’ perceptions of research and of the preregistration process. Data were collected in an introductory statistics course at a large midwestern university. Our results indicate significant positive shifts in students' views toward preregistration after completing a preregistration (p’s

Serena Zadoorian University of California Riverside, California State University San Bernardino To enhance engagement and support students with various learning styles in a lower-division research methods course, materials from PsycLearn were used. This educational support enabled me to utilize the flipped classroom method, allowing for more discussion time in class. Students were instructed to review the lecture materials before class and post at least one question they found confusing on the Canvas discussion board, which allowed for more discussion time in the classroom. Finally, to foster collaborative participation, students were randomly assigned to groups of 4-5 to engage in weekly in-class activities related to that week’s materials. Toward the end of the semester, students highlighted their satisfaction and appreciation for the course structure and support provided.

Alexandra Ingrassia, Melissa O'Neil University of Minnesota It’s important to understand the effects of AI in academics. The study explores how students perceive chatGPT, the benefits of conversational AI, and potential drawbacks. Students were randomly assigned to complete a set of statistics assignments 1) without using Chat GPT, 2) using Chat GPT however they wanted, and 3) using a scaffolded set of prompts with Chat GPT. Prior to the assignments, students indicated how often they used ChatGPT, their views on conversational AI, and drawbacks perceived. After the assignments, students completed the same questionnaires and described their experience using AI. Students had feedback ranging from positive to negative. These findings are important because they can aid in development of teaching curriculums as statistics courses adapt to technological advancements.

Jeff Bowen Johns Hopkins University Over the last year, I have administered weekly start- and end-of-class surveys to undergraduates in my psychological statistics course. The start-of-class surveys assess their wakefulness, course-external stressors, and assignment completion habits (e.g., use of lecture materials, textbook, AI, peer support, etc.). The end-of-class surveys assess their self-reported engagement with the day's material, level of understanding, and perceived utility of their learning for upcoming assessments. The goal of this investigation was to determine which factors assessed at the start of class predict positive experiences during the class (e.g., do students who are especially tired on a given day still manage to appreciate that material from class is directly tied to their next assignment's tasks?), and if those factors, in turn, predict performance on the next assignment/assessment.

Maisha Ahasan, V. N. Vimal Rao Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Sense of belonging (S.O.B) is essential for student engagement and motivation. A student’s racial identity is related to their S.O.B. – non-white students are less likely to feel a strong S.O.B., especially when their identity is incongruent with their instructor. This effect is stronger for “hyper-minority” students, those in relatively small ingroups (e.g., South Asians in North America). We recruited 573 students in a statistics course taught by a South Asian-American professor. Students who shared a racial identity with the instructor were 1.55 times as likely to find the instructor relatable. Those who found the instructor relatable were 3.36 times as likely to take another statistics class, but only with the same instructor. We show that demographic similarity is critical in enhancing S.O.B. and educational motivation for hyper-minorities.

Matthew S. Fritz, Rachel Fouladi University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Simon Fraser University Positionality and reflexivity are not often discussed in statistics courses. But that does not mean that quantitative researchers are unaware of these concepts or consider them unimportant. Instead, quantitative researchers often aim to limit the impact of researcher bias through their design choices. Presenting statistics as one Way of Knowing and discussing how quantitative researchers address positionality in their research early in an introductory statistics course can help students, some of whom view statistics as inherently biased, understand the relationship between quantitative and qualitative methods. Requiring students to reflect on their positionality and how it could affect their own quantitative research allows for experiential learning. Initial results suggest more openness to learning quantitative methods and a deeper understanding of the material.

Rachel Walker University of the Incarnate Word This presentation explores the innovative application of ChatGPT in creating scenarios for student discussions, offering an AI-powered approach to enhance educational experiences. It begins with an introduction to ChatGPT, creating research scenarios, and outlines the benefits of using this technology in academic settings. The core focus is on how ChatGPT can streamline and enhance the creation of realistic scenarios that increase student engagement, participation, and enthusiasm.