Abstract

Understanding the abstract principles of statistical experimental design can challenge undergraduate students, especially when learned in a lecture setting. This article presents a concrete and easily replicated example of experimental design principles in action through a hands-on learning activity for students enrolled in an experimental design course. The activity, conducted during five 50-min classes, requires the students to work as a team to design and execute a simple and safe factorial experiment and collect and analyze the data. During three in-class design meetings, the students design and plan all aspects of the experiment, including choosing the response variable and factors, making a list of needed supplies, creating a randomized run schedule with the MINITAB DOE utility, and writing a statistical analysis plan. A feasibility study is conducted in the fourth class. During the fifth and last class, the students conduct the experiment. Each student writes a lab report including all background research, methods, analyses, and conclusions, as well as a reflection on the learning experience. Students’ reflections indicate the active-learning experience was enjoyable and boosted course engagement and perceived conceptual understanding.

摘要

理解统计实验设计的抽象原则可以挑战本科生，尤其是在课堂上学习时。本文通过针对参加实验设计课程的学生的动手学习活动，提供了一个具体且易于复制的实验设计原则的实际示例。该活动在五节 50 分钟的课程中进行，要求学生作为一个团队设计和执行一个简单且安全的析因实验，并收集和分析数据。在三个课堂设计会议期间，学生设计和计划实验的所有方面，包括选择响应变量和因子、列出所需用品、使用 MINITAB DOE 实用程序创建随机运行计划，以及编写统计分析计划。第四节课进行可行性研究。在第五节课和最后一节课上，学生们进行实验。每个学生写一份实验室报告，包括所有背景研究、方法、分析和结论，以及对学习经历的反思。学生的反映表明主动学习的体验是愉快的，并且提高了课程参与度和感知的概念理解。