This is a message I sent to my Stats course (college). Some details have been removed for privacy reasons. This course is a department organized course. As such, some things are standardized so that the course content that’s taught and the assessment mechanisms in place are roughly equivalent from one section to the next.

I know a number of you are having difficulty with the latest material. The problems look hard and confusing and there is a lot of notation all of a sudden. On <removed> I will be at <removed> at <removed>. I’ll be going over the problems that we started working on <removed>. If you want to come for extra help, this is a good time to come! It’s an hour-and-a-half of help! The lecture portion for <removed> will be going over problems from 7.1-7.3. Then the <removed> after Thanksgiving we have Chapter 10 …

The end of the semester is coming. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and it is easy to get derailed. This time of the semester is critical to keep things organized and to have a good schedule. You have finals in all your classes and before you know it, everything will pile up — classes, holidays, family get-togethers, parties, etc. I’ve gone through school and have taught for long enough to know what it’s like to be a student.

Here’s some advice if you want it:

1. Make a schedule. Some of you work, some of you have a family of your own, some of you are full-time students, etc. Whatever your schedule, for the next month and a half, stay on a controlled and focused schedule. Allot time for each of your classes. Allot time for doing homework, reviewing notes, and generally studying. The time for having fun will happen once the semester is over. Focus now!

2. For this class, if you are confused about what is going on since exam 2, start at Chapter 5.4 (Central Limit Theorem) and continue one section at a time as per the course calendar. Remember that when you read your book, pay close attention to the vocabulary words and the symbolism. For many of you, the confusion is the terminology and working with the math symbols. While understanding the concepts is useful, you still have to know how to work through the calculations. An idea doesn’t pay the bills, making the idea work does!

3. Do the course specified homework on a DAILY basis. You don’t necessarily have to start at problem 1. Read through the problems and try to work out those you can first. Then try to tackle the ones you don’t understand. The book spells a lot of things out very explicitly. If you are having difficulty reading the book, get in touch with me.

4. It is natural to want to ask, “What’s the formula that I have to use?”. Unfortunately, this will get you nowhere. The question you have to ask yourself is, “What does this mean?” Once you understand what something means, the formula will be obvious. As you know by now, I am disinterested in having you memorize formulas. All the relevant formulas will be provided. You have to know, however, what \(P(\bar{x} – E < \mu < \bar{x} + E) = p\) means --- what does "\(p\)" mean, what does "\(P\)" mean, what does "\(E\)" mean, what does "\(\bar{x}\)" mean, what does "\(\mu\)" mean? How do we find the standard deviation of the mean from "\(E\)"? What else do we need to know in order extract this information? Can you find the critical \(z\) values for a given confidence level? What is the null hypothesis? What is the alternative hypothesis? How do we find the sample mean? The sample standard deviation? The standard deviation of the sample mean? What does it mean to reject the null hypothesis? 5. I've never really been into it, but it I know it works for a lot of folks --- find a study-buddy. Meet at the library, have a plan of what you are going to do, explain the chapter topics to each other. Pretend to give a lecture on the material. Annoy your family with the course material, try to explain it to them. Don't just write this off as a course you have to just get through. You all are by far the most engaging class I've had. I know you're all doing your best. Let's make sure that the time and energy you've put into this class doesn't go to waste in the last few weeks!