A workshop approach using spreadsheets for the teaching of statistics and probability

A report is given of an introductory course on data, statistics and probability given to first year electronic engineering students at the University of Hull, U.K. The course takes a practical approach suited to engineering students from a wide background. Extensive use is made of computer spreadsheets. Together with extensive printed notes, this allows flexible and self-paced learning. Use of a standard computer spreadsheet package not only aids the learning process but also adds to a student's professional competence. Many of the practical organizational aspects are applicable to other topics. Classes are organized as Four workshops in a computer laboratory, with demonstrators as well as the teacher in charge. The spreadsheets and notes, however, allow students to work on their own, wherever a computer is available. The course follows a progression: data and graphs, random data and statistics, probability distributions, probability and events; which thus starts from the more practical aspects, related to a student's laboratory experience, and progresses through to the more difficult and abstract aspects. This is a suitable progression for engineers and scientists.