[R-sig-teaching] I need your thoughts on teaching with R

[Brown, Tony Nicholas]

Andrew,

I teach a two-course statistics sequence in sociology using R. Here are
my responses to your four questions:

Q1. and Q2. The tough part is how to integrate teaching statistics
(i.e., theory) with learning R (i.e., practice). I solved this dilemma
by providing all R code from my lectures beforehand and by doing R
demonstrations during lecture and by hosting a weekly one hour R lab.
You must choose the right textbook. Most R textbooks assume either
facility with programming schema or statistics. Usually, students I
teach bring neither. I chose Verzani's "Using R for Introductory
Statistics" and supplement it with advanced R textbooks, websites,
journal articles, etc. You must decide whether you will (or expect
students to) write functions vs. use functions included in the base
installation. You need to decide what set of add-on packages students in
your discipline should be familiar with, if any. I try to use functions
from the base installation as much as possible and then introduce a few
packages that are absolutely necessary. You must decide whether you want
students to use a GUI (e.g., R Commander, SciViews-R) or type commands.
You must decide whether you want them to use a command/text editor
(e.g., TinnR, RWinEdt). I decided against both using a GUI and
command/text editor--these are skills students can learn on their own.

Q3. I use a combination of both approaches and actually encourage
students to share R code that they have written. Sometimes we all learn
about a useful function and maybe a way to write better R code. I find
that the theory and practice have to be combined because some students
have little interest in quantitative methods but have to take the
sequence because it is required.

Q4. I allow students to collaborate on graded assignments in small
groups (n=3). These graded assignments must be turned in and completed
as independent work but each student typically feels more or less
comfortable with certain topics. And as a small group they can rely on
each other for support and encouragement. Those students who just want
to pass the courses sometimes appreciate statistics or R more because of
the enthusiasm of another student. And students who get it learn to how
explain what they know to someone who may be struggling.

Cheers,
Tony

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Tony N. Brown, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Faculty Head of Hank Ingram House, The Commons
Research Fellow, Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies
Vanderbilt University
(615) 322-7518
(615) 322-7505 fax
tony.n.brown at vanderbilt.edu