Incorporating Statistical Consulting Case Studies in Introductory Time Series Courses

Abstract

Established as a rigorous pedagogical device at Harvard University, the case method has grown into an indispensable mode of instruction at many business schools. Its effectiveness has been praised for increasing student participation during in-class discussions, providing hands-on engagement in real-world business problems, and increasing long-term retention rates. This article illustrates how novel case studies that mimic real-life statistical consulting engagements can be incorporated in the curriculum of an undergraduate, introductory time series course. The assessment of learning objectives as well as pedagogical implications when teaching using statistical consulting case studies is elucidated. The article also lays out guidelines for adopting statistical consulting case studies should the readers choose to incorporate the case method into the curricula of courses that they teach. A sample case study which the author has successfully used in his classroom instruction is provided in this article.

Reforming Undergraduate Statistics Education in the Arab World in the Era of Information

“…English proficiency is not only a factor in developing and promoting oral and written communication skills but also appears to be critical for students' performance in mathematics courses (Yushau 2009;Abdelbasit 2010). Instructors are encouraged to use various pedagogical approaches to engage students in the problem-solving process and to equip them with methods to enhance their critical thinking abilities through interactive activities such as experiential learning (Hakeem 2001), working with real-world data (Neumann, Hood, and Neumann 2013), and analyzing case studies (Khachatryan 2015).…”

V for Voice: Strategies for Bolstering Communication Skills in Statistics

“…This mini-case was part of the three-case series published at the Entrepreneurial Leader Collection. See also Khachatryan (2015), for further details on the use of case-method in undergraduate time series education. The abstract for this case is provided in the appendix.…”

A Survey of Statistical Capstone Projects

“…There are many reasons why we should expect statistical capstones to be beneficial to students. Khachatryan (2015) pointed out that similar to Bloom's Taxonomy (Bloom et al 1956), statistical case studies and projects touch upon application (e.g., figuring out that Holt's method for data smoothing can also be used for imputation), synthesis (e.g., doing all steps of a statistical analysis from data acquisition and cleaning to model interpretation), and evaluation (e.g., comparing and contrasting model results and recommendations.) Moreover, hands-on projects like capstones provide an opportunity to expose students to advanced topics, help them to see the value of learning more statistics, and build their confidence as statisticians (Hillmer 1996;Nolan and Temple Lang 2015).…”

“…Higher retention rates among students (in the same course) who completed 10-week team projects versus those who did not. Improved technical proficiency in statistical problem solving from students in consulting capstone experiences (Keeler and Steinhorst 1995;Kvam 2000;Hakeem 2001;Berenson et al 2008;Kim et al 2014;Khachatryan 2015).…”

“…Improved professional skills such as collaboration and written/oral communication. The ability to communicate results to a client and communicate technical concepts to a nontechnical audience (Bryce et al 2001;Ritter et al 2001;Lazar et al 2011;Khachatryan 2015).…”