Abstract
Maple, a computer algebra system, is used in undergraduate psychology courses to promote students’ conceptual learning of basic principles associated with bivariate relationships. Maple’s symbolic computation, graphic displays, and animation capabilities are used along with other classroom activities to study concepts related to (1) correlation coefficients, scatterplots, and regression lines, (2) factors that affect the magnitude of sample correlations, (3) inferential tests, and (4) prediction error. For each of the 15 Maple procedures, students select population correlation values and examine the effects of different values on computer-generated graphical representations of scatterplots, regression lines, and sample correlations. The procedures are described and examples of exercises to support their use are provided.
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This work was supported in part by Grant P116B30079 from the Fund for the Improvement of PostSecondary Education (FIPSE) of the Department of Education. The procedures run with both Macintosh and DOS versions of Maple. Contact Waterloo Maple Software at info@ maplesoft.on.ca, or at (800) 267-6583, for specific information about computer requirements for each version. Additional software needed to run the statistical procedures described in this paper will be provided by the authors on either a Macintosh or a DOS diskette.
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Hassebrock, F., Snyder, R. Applications of a computer algebra system for teaching bivariate relationships in statistics courses. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 29, 246–249 (1997). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204820
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204820