Statistics: Learning from Data

Statistics: Learning From Data, written by the respected author team of Roxy Peck and Chris Olsen, offers an innovative approach to teaching and learning AP* Statistics, by tackling the areas that students struggle with most -- probability, hypothesis testing, and selecting an appropriate method of analysis. Supported by learning objectives, real-data examples and exercises, and technology notes, this brand new text guides students in gaining conceptual understanding, mechanical proficiency, and the ability to put knowledge into practice. Probability coverage is based on current research that shows how students best learn the subject. Two unique chapters, one on statistical inference and another on learning from experiment data, address two common areas of student confusion: choosing a particular inference method and using inference methods with experimental data.

Roxy Peck is Emerita Associate Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and Professor of Statistics Emerita at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. A faculty member at Cal Poly from 1979 until 2009, Roxy served for six years as Chair of the Statistics Department before becoming Associate Dean, a position she held for 13 years. She received an M.S. in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Applied Statistics from the University of California, Riverside. Roxy is nationally known in the area of statistics education, and she was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Statistics Education at the U.S. Conference on Teaching Statistics in 2009. In 2003 she received the American Statistical Association's Founder's Award, recognizing her contributions to K-12 and undergraduate statistics education. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and an elected member of the International Statistics Institute. Roxy served for five years as the Chief Reader for the Advanced Placement Statistics Exam and has chaired the American Statistical Association's Joint Committee with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability for Grades K-12 and the Section on Statistics Education. In addition to her texts in introductory statistics, Roxy is also co-editor of "Statistical Case Studies: A Collaboration Between Academe and Industry" and a member of the editorial board for "Statistics: A Guide to the Unknown, 4th Edition." Outside the classroom, Roxy likes to travel and spends her spare time reading mystery novels. She also collects Navajo rugs and heads to Arizona and New Mexico whenever she can find the time.

Chris Olsen taught statistics at George Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for over 25 years as well as at Cornell College and Grinnell College. Chris is a past member (twice) of the AP Statistics Test Development Committee and has been a table leader at the AP Statistics reading for 11 years. He is a long-time consultant to the College Board and has led workshops and institutes for AP Statistics teachers in the United States and internationally. Chris was the Iowa recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching in 1986, a regional awardee of the IBM Computer Teacher of the Year in 1988, and received the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement in mathematics in 1999. Chris is a frequent contributor to and is moderator of the AP Teacher Community online. He is currently a member of the editorial board of "Teaching Statistics." Chris graduated from Iowa State University with a major in mathematics. While acquiring graduate degrees at the University of Iowa, he concentrated on statistics, computer programming, and psychometrics. In his spare time he enjoys reading and hiking. He and his wife have a daughter, Anna, a Caltech graduate in Civil Engineering. She is cofounder and principal engineer at Geosynergy, specializing in the quantification of uncertainty in seismic risk.