Strategies for Learning
- Sequencing
- Take core courses early in the program.
- It is usually better to take the (core) Theory sequence later in your
core courses.
- Take courses in your career option, and then other courses, later in
the program.
- Take the capstone course as late in the program as possible.
- Be sure you meet course prerequisites. This includes a solid knowledge
of basic statistical techniques (at the level of 0307-711, 712, 714).
- Fill out the Plan of Study form, discuss it with your adviser, and
get it approved by your adviser in your first quarter.
- Be an active learner. Take an active and serious role in discussions (for
online courses—discussion groups and/or chat sessions) and working on
problems. Put in extra time studying to get a solid grasp of the material—many
ideas in statistics take time to sink in. Connect ideas among different courses.
- For full-time workers:
- You will usually learn much more if you take one course each quarter.
Students have found that it is very difficult to learn the material well
when they have tried taking two courses each quarter. This is especially
true of the more advanced courses.
- Similarly, it is better to take a course each quarter, whenever possible,
and not leave “gaps” between quarters.
- Use the ideas from courses in your work, whenever possible.
- For full-time students:
- Be active in the seminar course sequence.
- Give yourself plenty of time to study and to do extra work to get a
deeper grasp of the material. Our program is designed to give you a good
balance of applications and theory, and both are needed to become successful.
- Talk with the faculty whether you are having difficulties or are trying
to get some deeper knowledge. Also talk with them about your plans and
ambitions—they will try to help you succeed in them.
- Stay sharp and become sharper by reading additional texts, solving
additional problems, searching online for more knowledge, discussing statistics
with other students, and using software packages on a regular basis.