MATH 36b: Mathematical Statistics

Spring 2014
Instructor: Professor Becci Torrey, Goldsmith 222, rtorrey@brandeis.edu.
Prerequisite: Math 36a (Probability) (which, in turn, requires Multivariable Calculus)
Texts:
Required: An Introduction to Mathematical Statistics and Its Applications, Larsen and
Marx, 5th edition, ISBN-13: 978-0321693945
A few other texts you may find helpful:
Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis by John A. Rice
John E. Freunds Mathematical Statistics with Applications by Miller and Miller
Introduction to Statistical Thought a free online text by Michael Lavine, available at
http://www.math.umass.edu/~lavine/Book/book.html
All of the above texts (except the online book) are on reserve in the library.
Grades: The breakdown of your grade in the course will be as follows:
10%

Reading surveys graded for completion only

10%

Classwork graded for completion only

30%

Homework graded for mathematical correctness and clarity

30%

Two in-class quizzams (15% each)

20%

Final quizzam Monday, May 5, 9:15 am

Additional details about the structure of this course and grading can be found below.
Office hours: You are cordially invited to come to office hours whenever you have questions
about the course material or just to say hello and have some tea. If you cant attend office hours,
please do ask for an appointment at another time.
LATTE: All course materials will be available online on (the new!) LATTE. The new LATTE
can be found at https://moodle2.brandeis.edu.
Students with disabilities: If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because
of a documented disability you should present your letter of accommodation to me as soon as
possible. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations you should contact Beth Rodgers-Kay in the Office of Academic Services at x63470
or at brodgers@brandeis.edu. Accommodations cannot be granted retroactively.
Academic Integrity: You are expected to follow the Universitys policy on academic integrity,
which is distributed annually as section 4 of the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook (see http:
//www.brandeis.edu/studentaffairs/srcs/rr/index.html). Instances of alleged dishonesty
will be forwarded to the Department of Student Development and Conduct for possible referral
to the Student Judicial System. If you have any questions about how these policies apply to
your conduct in this course, please ask.
OVER

Learning Goals for Math 36b:

Our primary goal, of course, is to learn the content. Our general plan is to study much of
chapters 5-14 of the textbook:
Ch. 5: Estimation
Ch. 6: Hypothesis Testing
Ch. 7: Inferences Based on the Normal Distribution
Ch. 8: Types of Data: A Brief Overview
Ch. 9: Two-Sample Inferences
Ch. 10: Goodness-of-Fit Tests
Ch. 11: Regression
Ch. 12: The Analysis of Variance
Ch. 13: Randomized Block Designs
Ch. 14: Nonparametric Statistics
It is extremely doubtful that we will have time for all of that, so some topics may be
omitted or added as time permits and according to our collective interest.
Another goal is to learn R (software for statistical computing and graphics available for
free here: http://www.r-project.org/). It will probably make your life easier to also
download and use RStudio (an IDE, i.e. Integrated Development Environment, i.e., nice
user interface, for R also free and available here: http://www.rstudio.com/).
Learning R means you will gain an actual Marketable Skill! R is super-popular
and many employers would love to hire someone well-versed in it.
Another goal is to improve our ability to learn on our own and with others. In order to
achieve this goal, we will adopt a flipped class structure instead of a traditional lecture
structure. Details below.
Flipped Class:
The basic idea behind flipping the classroom is to take the traditional lecture structure (where
students get an introduction to the material in class and then are expected to do the hard stuff
on their own) and flip it around (so students read the book for an introduction and come to class
to do the hard stuff).
The goal of this is to use class time more efficiently. You are all capable of handling the easy,
introductory material on your own (and I think youll find our textbook quite readable). We
will then take advantage of our collective intelligence by working with each other on the harder
problems in class.
This means that my role in the class is different from that to which you are probably accustomed.
It is often said that in the flipped class structure, you should think of the instructors role as
Guide on the Side instead of Sage on the Stage. My role is to provide the structure and
guide you through the learning process. You can think of me as your coach if you were going
to run a marathon, you would not expect to watch your coach run laps, you would expect your
coach to tell you how many laps to run.
OVER

Flipped Class, cont.:

Students sometimes are resistant to the flipped class structure because its hard. It not only
requires diligence and a lot of hard work, but it means that one often feels lost. Thats ok
its part of the learning process. Lectures often feel nice but often result in the experience of
feeling like we understood things in class but then it all goes out the window when it comes
time to do problems on our own. The flipped class structure is meant to account for this. The
idea is summed up nicely in the Chinese proverb I hear, I forget. I see, I remember. I do, I
understand.
So, yes, this structure can be difficult, but the rewards are legion. Not only will you learn a
lot more and learn it much more deeply, but you will finish the class with the pride of having
faced a tough challenge and the satisfaction of owning the content in a way you can only achieve
through prolonged struggle.
So how will this work?
1. You will have an assigned reading for every class day.
2. You must fill out the Reading Survey on LATTE by 10 am every class day.
This is part of your grade (based on completion only, further details below). This feedback
is necessary so that I can make adjustments to what we will be doing in class. For example,
if everyone had difficulty with one particular example or theorem, we may spend some time
in class talking about it. Or if everyone thought a reading was really easy, I will try to
have some harder problems to work on in class.
3. During class, you will work in small groups on Classwork sets of problems that will be
similar in difficulty and content to the homework problems. I will walk around, answering
(and asking!) questions. There may be times when I pose questions to the whole class to
tap into our collective understanding or to leave things open to ponder.
At the end of class, everyone will turn in their classwork. This will be graded for completion
only (further details below). If you finish your work early, I will provide additional problems
to work on (not graded). The Classwork problems will be made available before class,
so you can try them on your own first if you prefer. If you finish them before class, you
can work on the additional problems during class and help your classmates with problems
you have already completed.
Classes will thus feel more like office hours. If another student asks a question that I know
you have already figured out, I may have you tutor the student who is still working on
it. The idea behind this is that the best way to learn something is to teach it trying to
explain something in your own words helps you to identify (and then plug) any holes in
your own understanding.
4. After we have worked on material in class, problems from those sections will show up on
a subsequent homework assignment (usually due a class or two later, depending on the
schedule). Since we have already worked on similar problems in class, these should be
quite tractable. You should try them on your own first, and then come to office hours
and/or work with classmates if you still have difficulty. These problems will be graded for
correctness and clarity. (You may work with others on these, but you must write up your
solutions on your own.)
OVER

IMPORTANT: This class structure can only succeed if everyone in the class does their best
to participate on a daily basis and meet the expectations outlined here. You should view this
syllabus as a contract. In particular, by taking this class you are signing your name to
the following pledge:
I pledge to do my best to meet the expectations outlined in this syllabus. I agree to:
complete the readings and reading surveys on time, providing honest feedback;
work in good faith and good humor with my classmates in small groups on the
assigned exercises during class;
assist classmates when I understand something they do not;
ask others for explanations when they understand something I do not; and
enjoy learning something new!
Details on Grading for Reading Surveys and Classwork:
For each of these grades, you have the opportunity to earn one point for each day of class by
completing your reading survey on time (for the reading survey grade) and by coming to class
and working on problems with your group (for the classwork grade).1 Since we have a total of
39 classes, each of these grades will be out of a total of 39 points.
There are some days for which these points do not make sense (e.g., quizzam days). These days
will function as bonus days: if you have the largest possible number of points since the last
bonus day, you will earn your point for the bonus day (treated separately for reading surveys
and classwork). Day one is an exception from the exception: the reading survey point is a freebie
(everyone gets it) and the classwork point is earned by turning in your in-class survey.
Of course I realize that things come up (we get sick, have interviews, religious observations,
extracurricular events, etc.). So if you miss a point for either of these grades, you have the
opportunity to make it up. (Though I reserve the right to cut this opportunity off if you miss
too many.) Any make-up activities must be pre-approved by me. The idea, though, is that
you missed vital participation in class and so that is what you need to make up. So make-up
activities will be things like:
Writing up summary notes for a section of text.
Making a video2 explaining a theorem or example from the reading.
Making a video explaining problem(s) from the classwork.
Such make-up work would then be posted on LATTE, so that other students can benefit.
All make-ups must be completed within one week of missing the point.
Late Homework:
If
( you turn your homework in n days after it was due, your grade for that assignment will be
1
(your score) for 1 n 6
n+1
0
for n > 6
So if it is one day late, you can only earn half credit. If its two days late, you can only earn one
third credit. Under no circumstances will homework be accepted more than one week late.
1

If it is clear that you are not actually working on class material during class or are refusing to play nicely
with others, you will not earn your point for that day.
2
using software like Educreations