Course Tips


Course Roadmap



Lecture Notes Key



Main Questions to Be Thinking About When Choosing the Right Visualization and Analysis



Assignments + Quizzes + Exams: How to Prepare, Submit, and Get Feedback

Assignment/ Quiz Purpose How to Submit How to Prepare For How to Get Feedback
Readiness Assessments
(Individual+Group)		 Motivation to keep up with pre-unit videos so you can come to class with a "mental model" of the unit you're about to begin. Allows for you get feedback in the lecture, get hands-on experience, project your current knowledge gaps and level of understanding, and get real-time feedback from professor, TAs, and your peers. (Individual+Group) IN-CLASS

Individual: Clicker Submission,

Group: Scratch Sheet 		Video Notes (Book if you need more clarification).
Coursera Practice Quizzes		 In addition to submitting clicker responses, write down your answers on your individual RA paper and keep this. The group scratch sheet will reveal the right answers. If you scratch off 2 boxes in a row (question) and neither have the star (right answer), you got 0 points for this question. But be sure to scratch off all of this row's boxes so you know the right answer. Make sure you keep your individual RA paper and mark down the right answers. (You won't get the scratch sheet back).
Application Exercises (Graded for Participation)
(Group)		 Group short answer practice in groups piecing together important aspects of the unit. Very helpful for Problem Sets and Exam studying. Be sure to ask questions if you don't understand. IN-CLASS

Hand in to Dr. Ellison at the end of class (or beginning of next class).		 Video Notes + In-Class Notes+Practice AEs on Sakai Reviewed at the end of class. Make sure you get a copy of the right answers (you don't usually get the paper you submitted back)! (You can take a picture of your groups AE before submitting). The practice AEs on Sakai give problems/solutions of a very similar structure.
Problem Sets
(Individual)		 Individual short answer practice piecing together important aspects of the unit. Helpful for exam studying. Sakai Assignment Submission Video Notes + In-Class Notes + Application Exercises + Book TAs give Sakai feedback on the problems that you missed. Ask me or a TA for help if you'd like to know more about what you missed!
Lab Assignments
(Group)		 Teach you to do data analysis in R. Sakai Assignment Submission Labs walk you through the code you need, but they build upon each other. Try to take notes of the functions that you learn in this class. Try to accomplish as much as possible during your lab time. Be proactive and ask your TA for help while he/she's there! Concepts from the lecture will play a part in these labs. Your lab TA gives Sakai feedback on the problems that you missed. Ask your lab TA for help if you'd like to know more about what you missed!
Project
(Group)		 Develop useful industry skills: get hands-on experience completing a data analysis workflow in R, collaborating in teams, and presenting findings. Sakai Assignment Submission + Final Presentation Labs and in-class notes (with code) provide you with the code you need. Concepts from the lecture will play a big part in your project. Read over the project description and fial presentation rubric carefully before you begin work. Your lab TA gives Sakai feedback on your project proposal. Ask me or your lab TA for help if you'd like to know more about what you missed!
Midterms and Final
(Individual)		 Test course knowledge. (R coding not included). In-Class *See below. TAs give feedback on the problems that you missed (on the midterms). Ask me or a TA for help if you'd like to know more about what you missed!


Midterms and Final Preparation

You can use the master list of all the concepts/skills you will be expected to know for this course. You can use this in helping to keep track of the concepts and skills you can expect to be tested on in the midterms and final exam. Note that the midterms and final will not be simply just asking these questions on the left. For instance, an exam question may require you to combine multiple skills listed in the left-hand column. However, to be prepared for the exams you should know how to answer/complete each of the questions/skills given the left-hand side. Reviewing the application exercises (REALLY IMPORTANT), problem sets, practice exams, and quiz answers is also a very useful way to prepare for the exams. Doing practice problems (like the practice application exercises and the practice problem sets) can also be useful.

***Common Mistake on Exams: If you are using a result/technique/theorem/tool that requires certain conditions to be met in order to use it, show that these conditions are met.

Lab Assignment Advice/Common Mistakes

  • When describing a visualization, if you are able to/it makes sense to the visualization, comment on:
    • Any outliers
    • Shape
    • Spread
    • Center
  • Make sure to read/work through the entire lab and not just the exercises. There are often codes or concepts that would be explained in between exercises.
  • Keep a list of new functions that you learn and what they do. The project and future labs will build upon functions that you've learned in previous labs.
  • If you are learning a new function in R, ask your TA which package it comes from.
  • Ask your TA about differences between running commands in the console vs. a RMD file.




Problem Set Advice/Common Mistakes

  • When describing a visualization, if you are able to/it makes sense to the visualization, comment on:
    • Any outliers
    • Shape
    • Spread
    • Center
  • If you are using a result/technique/theorem/tool that requires certain conditions to be met in order to use it, show that these conditions are met.

Getting Help

You are more than welcome to visit me for any questions, advice, or help you might need in the course during my weekly office hours.

We also have 14 teaching assistants assigned to the STA101 courses this semester, each of them holding two hours of STA101 office hours Monday-Friday. We keep pace and cover the same material as the other STA101 course, so you are more than welcome to visit any of the 16 TAs for extra help.

The TA office hours lounge (Old Chemistry 203B) and the Old Chemistry Building first floor lounge has several chairs and tables. Some students in the past have found it helpful to work on homework, go through the videos, and study for exams in these lounges and ask questions as needed.

For more general academic help, free to check out the Academic Resource Center. It has a variety of academic services including: Learning Consultations, Peer Tutoring Programs, and ADHD/LD Support.

Other Advice

  • Make sure you frequently check up on your grades on Sakai gradebook. If you spot an issue with one of your grades, let me or your TA know sooner rather than later.
  • If you a conflict with one of Midterm or Final Exam times, let me know ASAP.
  • If you have athletic obligations that will cause you to miss several lecture or lab days, let me know ASAP.