This chapter looks at samples and statistics by referencing populations and parameters. It explains how the population encapsulates all the possible observations people could make when attempting to answer a particular question, while the parameter uses all the data in the population to calculate a descriptive statistic. In bias and random sampling, some thought should be put into the selection of objects to measure and contain data, as the sample should truly be representative of the population. The chapter also notes the importance of sample size and sample quality as key determinants of statistical power. It explores how related and unrelated samples are calculated to understand the independence of data.

Statistic

Sample (material)

Independence

10.1093/hesc/9780198783695.003.0012

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Getting the most out of exams

Oxford University Press eBooks (2019)

Tina Overton Stuart Johnson Jon Scott

This chapter addresses the skills needed for exams and those needed for the days leading up to exams. It emphasizes that it is very unusual to be able to walk into an exam room feeling completely prepared, as exams are, by their very nature, an unknown quantity. It also gives advice on needing to be realistic and knowing that, at some point, one needs to stop preparing for the exam: some last-minute work is helpful, but other types of last-minute work may be detrimental. The chapter emphasizes that last-minute cramming is the wrong sort of last-minute work, noting that the time would be much better spent going over things that the student is already familiar with. It describes last-minute cramming as counterproductive.

Advice (programming)

10.1093/hesc/9780198821816.003.0017

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Do examinations prepare students for higher education? A lesson from the Covid-19 lockdown

Journal of Biological Education (2021)

Harriet Jones Valentina Zini Jon R. Green John R. Prendergast Jon Scott

The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruption to education in the UK in 2020, with most of the school teaching moving online and national school examinations being cancelled. This was particularly disruptive for those taking end of school examinations in preparation for higher education. Biological science courses require students to absorb a lot of new vocabulary and concepts, with examinations traditionally focusing on content recall rather than reasoning. Students who had entered university in September 2019 were compared with those arriving in September 2020 with respect to their knowledge of bioscience vocabulary and understanding of key concepts. Results showed no significant difference between those who had gone through the examination process in 2019 relative to those who had not, in 2020. This suggests the cramming of information for examinations has no detectable effect on the knowledge and understanding of biology that students take with them to university.

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Pandemic

10.1080/00219266.2021.1941190

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Citations (1)

Classification of muscle spindle afferents in the peroneus brevis muscle of the cat

Brain Research (1990)

Jon Scott

Muscle spindle

Identification

10.1016/0006-8993(90)90309-y

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