Listen to Fellow Classmates - How They Study Statistics and Be Successful in COB191?

Many students would like to know how others have studied statistics and performed well in the class.  The following are some comments and experience from your peers.  Please let me know if you used any methods that you feel work pretty well for you.

Comments from students in Fall 2009:

 

The teacher is very humorous while teaching the course.  Too many homework.  Give some more examples in class.  Excellent.

 

I like how it is logical and involves plenty of math.  Too much homework.  Keeps me up late.  Could take some surveys ourselves.  I can understand the materials well and I'm happy with how I'm doing.

 

The course is related to Excel and then we can know more about how to use Excel.  Too much homework.   We can encourage to do some research in which students can use methods we learn from the course.  The course is interesting and not very difficult.

 

Practice more.  Sometimes hard to understand.  Explain more clearly.  We can solve realistic problems.

 

Chinese teacher can explain some problems in Chinese for me.  The statistics is too complex. Practice more. Too much homework.  Not so easy.

 

The instructor's interaction & enthusiasm with the classes.  How difficult it is to improve your grade with one poor test grade.  Allow earlier test times.  My impression of the course is that one bad test grade can impact your over all average significantly.

 

It's practical.  It has so many theories and calculations.  Have more practical problems.  Impressive!  I like this course.

 

The flexibility of the teacher, the quizzes were fairly easy, didn't require a lot of outside reading.  Hard to understand the professor at times.  Not much really.  he is hard to understand but that is the only bad thing, very friendly.  It was a difficult, challenging course but overall wasn't that bad.  If you paid attention, did the work then you should have a decent grade.

 

There were a lot of outside help and study groups.  Also that Dr. Wang provided many ways to get grades.  I couldn't understand him that well in class.  Better class examples.  Work hard.

 

The challenges.  The amount of time needed.  make easier.  Very good. 

 

The way the tests were spread out and materials was covered.  A LOT of work.  Different textbook.  I learned a good amount.

 

Open discussions.  Too much work!  More problems, ... Haro

 

I liked how much Prof. Wang wanted us to succeed and made it easier to succeed.  The attendance policy.  I really liked this course.

 

Teacher was really fun.  Too much homework, not enough review.  Review more before tests.  Great class, very fun.

 

Learning about real world scenarios.  The confusion about use of statistics.  Nothing.  It was challenging. 

 

The challenge and materials.  How hard it was and how poor  I performed.  more study sessions at little times.  I thought it was a good course that was tough.

 

Hearing Ping Wang's stories.  Learning about Chapter 3.  Nothing.  Very good.

 

Professor are ready to help and makes the course easy to understand!  Some accent.  Give more representative demo.  Good I learned a lot and I think I can perform well on the course.

 

The way it prepares you for upcoming challenging courses.  The formats of tests, and the needed work that had to be shown.  Show students how to tackle problems which will be tested.  It was average.  I didn't learn too much about the business applications of 191.

 

I didn't really like anything best about this course.  The homework & how confusing some of the subject matter was at times.  It's dif. from how I learned it in high school.  Make concepts more clear & teach in ways to make material more understandable.  I'm indifferent.

We have a lot of bonus and the exercises are pretty helpful.  I think homework is much more than other courses.  Provide more examples for the ... in class.  It's nice to use Excel in the course.

 

That he provided many ways to get help if we didn't understand.  That I couldn't understand his logic.  Have the same type of questions on the quizzes and tests.  Since there are some many questions on the quizzes make them worth more.  I liked the teacher, not his method of teaching.  The overall the material was frustrating.    

 

 

 

Comments from students in Fall 2005:

 

COB 191 Study Tips

Dr. Ping Wang

Spring 2006

Tom Martin

 

  • The Dr. is easily accessible and is in his office for office hours.  Get to know your professor and ASK QUESTIONS.

  • You must at least skim the text before the class that the material is being taught in; otherwise everything can get really confusing in class.

  • Make a schedule and reminders for yourself, as to stay on top of the quizzes and homework because even though the points seem small at the time, they add up and can be real assets.

  • You MUST do you homework, not only does it help your grade but practicing this type of material is essential because there are many concepts to be memorized and many step by step processes to learn, which repetitions can greatly help with.

  • Read everything carefully check your answers on tests.  With some problems the most minor misunderstanding can throw off your solution.

  • When studying for tests it is very helpful to utilize the practice exams that Dr. Wang provides for you, go through the tests mark the questions your not sure of and study them over, then re-read your previous quizzes for that section (print them off to have in hard copy).

  • It is very helpful to study in groups, if you have questions ask each other.  Explaining things to other people can be a way for you yourself to study, while also benefiting the other person.  While studying, the group can come up with questions for Dr. Wang and then contact him via e-mail, he will respond usually within a half hour.

  • Come prepared to class and give your best effort, Dr. Wang is one of the most reasonable professors I have ever had.  If you’re having trouble with something approach him he will more than likely be able to help you out.

This class can be an easy “A” for you and you can learn a lot, however it can also be an easy “F” it all depends on how much work you’re willing to put into it.

 

To do well in this class I had to make sure I did all of the work assigned, and really understand what I was doing while completing the homework, quizzes, etc. also I made sure when I studied for tests I went through the quizzes and read the chapters. Also, being able to bring in a sheet during tests was very helpful. If my sheet was made well, I was more confident I would perform well.
 

This class was challenging, but putting so much time and work into the class, it was rewarding to get a decent grade.
 

I reviewed the material daily and did all the assignments and quizzes. When I prepared for a test I reviewed the practice tests, quizzes and notes. A study group is the key to success in this class. Dr. Ping is a very nice man and will help you in any way but you have to put forth the effort. Go by and see him in his office hours and will assist you greatly!
 

The beginning sections of the class need to be at a slower pace. I felt the final exam was on that section and it was breezed through. The final exam should be for each individual class and should not be a standard exam for COB 191. The reason is that the students are now used to the testing style of the professor and it throws a curve ball at exam time. The projects should be worth more points since so much work goes into them.

Overall the class is great when the student puts forth the effort and wants to learn. Dr. Wang is very nice and helpful. I would take him again because he cares for his students and challenges you for the next level. I have never more challenged in my college life than in this class. He really makes you think and study hard. Great teacher.

 

study the quizzes and the practice tests. And make sure you read the book.
 

some of the projects are extremely long maybe cutting out the explanation of every problem would be better
 

I did all the homework and a group of us got together to study before tests and whenever we had problems.
 

The online quizzes and tests were pointless- grade wise. However, the sample tests were great reviews and the chapter quizzes let you figure out how well you understood the chapter. I would suggest giving them more points.

 

using online quizzes to study.
 

Work harder on the homework and go to office hours more when I need help.
 

Tests were really difficult and material is difficult to understand.
 

One of my biggest problems is that I am really poorly organized and I forget about assignments. Second I am not good at math and really need to get a tutor.
 

Read more, study more, review more
 

Study hard and go over all of the quizzes and tests
 

The final was probably the hardest test I have ever taken in my life. So I believe that revisions could be made for the final
 

I did all of the homework and online quizzes.
 

Read all of the assigned chapters. It is difficult to understand if you don't know any information going into class.
 

The final was completely unexpected. The topics, the format, everything. We should have been given a better warning about what to expect. The final broke my grade. It was like nothing we had ever done in class before.
 

There should be a review for the Final. Stating the topics that it will cover. We covered topics not covered on the final and we also did not cover certain things that were on the final. The final test was like no other test we have taken. Class is not very useful. The book was the most useful resource. Practice tests and quizzes only helped some of the time. Thanks that's it
 

Review the notes, skim the book, make a great study guide

Keep up the good work. Class went fine, teacher was helpful, understanding and willing to do whatever it took to make the students do their best work and to get the most out of the class.
 

Obtain a tutor throughout the entire course.
 

Read the book, and do the problems after each section. Do all quizzes and then review them before the test. Study as you go along not all at once.
 

I didn't feel as if the teacher presented the material in a well organized manner.
 

More organization.
 

Read the textbook , don't skip classes, take detail notes, do homework on time, prepare well for your cheat sheet....Do what you should do as a student. Actually it's not that hard to do well in this class.
 

I like dr. Ping wang 's class. To me, this class is good enough.
 

I did not do great in this class, but to do well you have to spend a lot of time studying and reading the required material. To do better in this class, make time to read the chapters before the class and ask questions for things that seem complicating.

This class focuses more on the concept of the material more so than computational and mathematical details which is a good thing because the class is required for all business majors and it is good to know concepts on how statistics are applied to business.
 

Suggestions: Do more examples for the problems because the tests require a lot of computational details. And have a review for the test that covers the things that are going to be on the test so that the students can better prepare. Also, go slower. This class went at a really fast pace compared to my other classes and I did well in those classes because they did not go at a fast pace. Also, instead of assigning one whole chapter each week, assign a section or two every class and focus on those few sections so that not one huge chunk of information is being taught at one time because it gets confusing.
 

Practice more problems Pay attention and go do the problem sets, don't just wait for the solutions and copy them down.

I struggled in this class with a lot of the concepts, but the best ways that I learned was applying the problems and just doing practice problems, because class time is limited we usually spent most of it going over how to learn the problems, I think that if we had more opportunities to go over practice problems in class it would have helped me to grab the concepts I enjoyed professor wangs' teaching, he was fun and had a good attitude about teaching the class, I think that the group projects really helped and that stats is a very hard class to do, but I got through it by enjoying going to class, and the fact that professor wang gave bonus points at the end of the year for going to every class really motivated me too, and because of that i know that my grade was helped in both ways


You must keep up with the assignments. Quizzes and homework can really help you at the end of the semester if you have completed them. When reviewing for tests you must do the quizzes, go back over them and complete the sample tests. If you have completed your homework and done the quizzes then you complete the sample final exam, then you are going to be ready for the exam. Make sure you prepare yourself and make good organized study sheets, and also know that Dr. Wang is very readily available and can help you anywhere along the way. - I just wanted to thank you Dr. for a great semester. I really enjoyed your class. Happy Holidays!
 

The best thing to do is practice, practice, practice. Now this sounds like the usual advice but I would seriously suggest forming a group of people that you know will put time into meeting and going over each chapter as well as concepts. This greatly helped in my knowledge of statistics.

 

Look at the "extra" things that you do outside of school and try and eliminate one of those not necessary things in order to meet with group members.

 

In the beginning I thought that this class was so hard. I felt like it was completely unfair but by the time I started turning my grade around by meeting with my group, I realized that what we are learning was so important for COB 291. Ping was the best prof. that ive had in my three years of higher education and although his class is tougher than most, He will give you such a great boost in terms of statistics that other teachers are not giving. When you take the Department final you will realize just how good of a teacher Ping is. He teaches you more than the standard and in doing so allows you to excel. Great teacher... loved the class... and he made me laugh so many times and he didn't even try.


I would read the book more/

 

One other thing that I thought about is that more time should be spent on excel. I always here that Excel is the real world application of what we are doing and I feel that we did not cover it much in class. The projects were good but I did not really feel prepared for them and had to depend totally on the tutorial.
 

take the online quizzes, do the homework, and go to class

 

pay attention

 

nope
 

I would make outlines of all of the chapters that the tests were on.


Study the online quizzes for the tests!

 

I should have kept track of the dates that assignments were due. I missed a turning in a few homework assignments because I didn't make myself aware of the due dates.

 

You should definitely go to all the classes, the 30 bonus points helped my grade in the end. It's not really that bad if you keep up with all of the assignments and do all of your work. You should read the book too, it helps a lot.


Study the practice quizzes and tests more.


study the online quizzes, and make good cheat sheets


I review every chapter, the quiz's and test's that correspond to the tested chapters as well as meet with members of my class to study together

 

nothing, i did well

 

stay on top of things. Do the practice quiz's and the homework. Pay attention in class and keep up with it or it will become a heavy burden!

 

Comments from students in Spring 2005:

 

It really helps to be alert in class and pay attention to when we go over chapters. It is a reinforce for when you apply it to the assigned problem sets. It helps to understand it another way then what the book explains. Do as many of the assigned problem sets that you can because it give its good practice for solving alike problems on exams. Really grasp the concepts and formulas used on the practice tests. It will help you when you go to take your exam. Use the opportunity of having note cards for tests! Use the notes that Ping hands out in class to put on your note cards.  Pay attention in class because a lot of tips are given out for how to do well on exams and what to pay particular attention to for an exam.
 

I really worked hard to keep up with the Problem Sets. I like doing the problem sets first because it prepares me much more for the quizzes that are due online. Reading the chapters also really helped because it helped me understand some background information as well as the formulas. E-mailing the professor and seeing him during office hours is also a great idea!  "I thought this class went extremely well for me. I tried to avoid missing class as much as possible because missing a class would mean missing a lot of important information. I also went to the review sessions that were offered before the exams to make sure that all of my questions were answered before the exam.
I highly recommend keeping up to date with the homework assignments and projects. Don't wait till the last minutes because they normally take a long time to complete. I often asked questions when I had them which was also really helpful because professor Wang answered them immediately. ALWAYS ask questions!!!"
 

 

What is one thing or one action you would do differently about the class if it is at the beginning of the class now?  (Spring 2005)

Prepare a little longer for the tests perhaps. Memorize the most minute details because they are on the test.
I would have worked out more of the problems starting in the beginning of the year instead of waiting until I fell behind to really start trying.
Teach MYSELF
I would be more prepared to work. There were so many problem sets and I gave up on them sometimes.
Try to do more of the problem sets.
I would study more for the tests--go over more of the assigned problems.
Do the assigned problem sets a little more often.
i wouldve done project one, and worked harded on quizzes
Prepare more.
I would definitely read through the chapters and then do the problem sets after reviewing the chapter concepts.
Do the assigned problem sets. They help understanding each chapter a great deal.
Work harder on Project 1.
I would procrasinate less

 

 

 

Gregory Macur - Fall 2004

My usual study routine involves between 3-5 hours of going over old quizzes, class notes, and preparing notecards. I try to do this the night before and directly before the test, so the information is fresh in my mind. 11/30/2004

 

Dawn S. Scott - Fall 2004

I truly enjoy your class. I have truly tried to learn and get something out of everything that you taught. I hope that I accomplished my goal! I am sure that I did as I feel like I know more than before I took your class. I was overjoyed that you took the time to answer my questions Of course I would have wanted to do better. But that is what kept me accomplishing what I did accomplish. I always asked a question when I did not truly understand because things stack onto one another. I did as many examples in the book as I could. I think that you do well in your class by going through each step in a process so nothing is forgotten.

Thank you for all that you have taught me, I hope that others get the same thing out of it that I did.  11/29/2004

 

Larry A. Mumaw - Fall 2004

To prepare for the test, I re-read each section and worked the corresponding problems. If I had trouble with a problem in particular, I would make a note of it and once I finished with the chapter I then take ones that I had problems with and looked through the chapter for help. This past exam I think that I read the chapter at least twice and worked some problems two or three times. This helped me understand a little better why I was doing a certain computation. It was
really time consuming, but it made me realize why I got such a low grade on the third test.    2/26/2004
 

Chris Botsakos - Fall 2004

In studying for COB191, I seem to have developed better study habits. While at college I have learned to study the material over several days as a pose to reviewing all the material in one or two nights.  Therefore, I first read over all the chapters and notes that will comprise the material for the test. Then, I retake the quizzes from the respective chapters to test the materials that I need to review more in depth.  After reviewing the quizzes, I look over the previous tests and make sure I understand all concepts, formulas, and excel equations that could be on the next test.  Furthermore, once I have read over all chapters and notes, gone through past quizzes and tests, then I go back and practice computations for problems in each section.  The most important lesson I have learned from the class is that the computations are much easier to complete successfully once you understand the concepts of each chapter. I hope that this information will be beneficial to other COB191 students. - 11/26/2004

Joanna Mehaffey - Fall 2004

... ..., I go to the Math Learning Center in Wilson and the Statistics Lab in Burruss once or twice a week for help with homework.  Like everything else in life, it seems easy just watching someone else do all the work.  But the only way to truly understand is struggling through the problems myself. It's essential to put in the time and effort, COB 191 doesn't come easy for most people.  11/26/2004
 

Pete Frith - Fall 2004

... ... for advice on how to study i think that group work and studying with many people is very helpful.  I read through every chapter in the book and copy down all the formulas. after which i put the formulas to use doing problems from every chapter.  Working with other people from class helps to put those concepts in to use, if there is concept i don't get they can explain it to me and vice versa explaining concepts and helping others work through problems helps my understanding.  11/25/2004
 

Anonymous - Fall 2004

Work on all the homework assignments. Find a good tutor for after class.
Study more before exams
I would try and learn the concepts over the mathematical equations
do each assign(ed) problem if it were short
Worked out more problems from the assignment list, and perhaps joined a study group with other students in class.
pay more attention
i would try to cover all of the material more even though it was very difficult
Ask the teacher to make the tests relevant to what he teaches in class
started the excel part and not waited to do it all at once.
take more notes and do all the assigned problems
i would make more helpful note cards
I would have started Project Two and Three much earlier.
More Excel practice.
drop it and wait till next semester to take another teacher
Read the book more, cause i always got confused during class
Read.  Read   Read.  Practice Practice Practice

I would work out more problems.

More work with excel