Stat 131A Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Life Scientists, Spring 2019 is designed primarily as an introductory course for statistical thinking: critical thinking, interpretation, and statistical literacy. Topics include descriptive statistics, association, correlation, regression, elements of probability, chance variability, random variables, expectation, standard error, sampling, hypothesis tests, confidence intervals, experiments and observational studies.
You do need to be comfortable with math at the level of intermediate algebra (e.g., the equation of a straight line, plotting points, distance between two points, taking powers and roots, percentages, inequalities).
You should expect to spend about 7 hours of outside work hours per week, 2 hours of instructional lab, and 3 hours of instructor presentation of course materials per week.
We will be using a combination of materials such as slides, tutorials, reading assignments, and chalk-and-talk.
I firmly believe that one cannot do statistical computations without the help of good statistical software. In this course, you will be asked to do various assignments and practical work using the statistical software R with the help of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) RStudio.
The rest of this document details the policies that will be enforced in the Spring 2019 offering of this course. These policies are subject to change until the beginning of the semester and throughout the remainder of the course, at the judgement of the course staff.
- Lecture is meant to discuss concepts and fundamentals of statistical concepts, statistical reasoning, as well as computing.
- We expect that you attend lecture, take notes, and participate.
- Weekly labs are a required part of the course and they are meant to supplement lecture. We strongly encourage you to attend lab.
- You must attend the discussion group you are officially registered in.
- Do not take the class if you cannot attend the discussion you are registered in.
- You will be encouraged to problem solve individually or in groups.
- Each person must submit each lab independently to bCourses, but you are welcome to collaborate with other students in your lab room.
- You must attend lab, work on the lab assignment until the lab period is over, and get checked off by a course staff member.
- If you finish the lab early, we encourage you to help others with their lab.
- Please plan ahead and pace yourself. Don't wait until the due day to do a lab assignment. Don't wait until the last minute to submit your lab assignments.
- Your lab score will be computed based on both: 1) lab attendance, and 2) submission of completed lab assignments to bCourses.
- full credit: lab attendance and complete submission on time.
- half credit: lab attendance but no submission, or no attendance with complete submission on time.
- late submissions of labs will not be accepted under any circumstances. Please see the policy about Special Accommodations (below) if you have relevant DSP accommodations.
- In lieu of offering exceptions or extensions, your two lowest lab scores will be dropped in the calculation of your overall grade.
- Lab submissions will be graded on completion, using a coarse scale:
- 0: no submission
- 2: submission but very poor (e.g. got started but there's around 30% of problems solved)
- 5: half-way there (e.g. about 50% of problems solved)
- 8: Mostly completed but one or two questions missing.
- 10: full credit, everything is completed
- Homework assignments will be assigned every week.
- Due to the ever present logistical issues at the beginning of every semester, you will have till Feb-17 to submit the first three HW to bCourses.
- After Feb-17, no late assignments will be accepted under any circumstance. Please see the policy about Special Accommodations (below) if you have relevant DSP accommodations.
- In lieu of offering exceptions or extensions, your lowest HW score will be dropped in the calculation of your overall grade.
- HW will be graded on correctness typically by selecting some problems (e.g. most challenging parts of the assignment, specific details or instructions).
- The applicable grading scheme for each assignment will be announced on bCourses.
- Homework assignments are NOT eligible for regrades.
- Please plan ahead and pace yourself. Don't wait until the last day to do an assignment. Don't wait until the last minute to submit your assignments.
- If you collaborate with other students when working on a HW assignment, please include the names of those students in your submission.
- You must write your own answers (using your own words). Copy and plagiarism will not be tolerated (see Academic Honesty policy).
- There will be two 50-minute in-class midterm tests, and one 3-hour final exam.
- The midterm exams will be held in class (during lecture period). Tentative dates displayed on the syllabus calendar.
- The final exam will be held from 7pm to 10pm on May-14 (as scheduled by the university). Rooms will be announced closer to the date.
- Unless you have accommodations as determined by the university and approved by the instructor, you must take the midterm and the final at the dates and times provided here. Please check your course schedule and make sure that you have no conflicts with these exams. If you have a conflict with either exam, please contact the Instructor before the end of the second week of classes (before Feb-01). Otherwise, do not take the class if you are not available at these dates and times.
- Please check your course schedule and make sure that you have no conflicts with these exams.There will be no early or makeup exams.
- Do not take the class if you are not available at these dates and times.
- We will use gradescope to grade the tests.
- You will have three days after grades are published on gradescope to request a regrade for the midterms. The final test is NOT eligible for regrades.
- Please only ask for regrades if you see an error in the grading rather than a dispute with the rubric.
- During the regrading process you can lose points, even for questions you did not ask to be regraded.
- Regrades are based on what you actually wrote, not on what you were thinking, or what you meant to say, or what you assumed or failed to assume.
- After the regrade deadline, no requests will be considered, even if there was an error in the grading.
Grades will be assigned using the following weighted components:
| Concept | Weight |
|---|---|
| Lab work | 10% |
| Homework | 20% |
| Midterms | 30% |
| Final | 40% |
- No individual letter grades will be given for midterms, or final.
- You will get a letter grade for the course that is based on your overall score.
- Letter grades are final; I don't enter into negotiations with students about grades.
- Please do not embarrass yourself and me by begging for extra credit or late submissions after final grades have been awarded.
- Also, please remember that I grade your performance, not your personal worth.
With the obvious exception of exams, we encourage you to discuss all of the course activities with your friends and classmates as you are working on them. You will definitely learn more in this class if you work with others than if you do not. Ask questions, answer questions, and share ideas liberally.
Cooperation has a limit, however. You should not share your code or answers directly with other students. Doing so doesn't help them; it just sets them up for trouble on exams. Feel free to discuss the problems with others beforehand, but not the solutions. Please complete your own work and keep it to yourself. If you suspect other people may be plagiarizing you, let us know ASAP. For more information please read the Honor Code Guide for Syllabi.
We expect you to do your own work and to uphold the standards of intellectual integrity. Collaborating on homework is fine and I encourage you to work together---but copying is not, nor is having somebody else submit assignments for you. Cheating will not be tolerated. Anyone found cheating will receive an F and will be reported to the Center for the Student Conduct. If you are having trouble with an assignment or studying for an exam, or if you are uncertain about permissible and impermissible conduct or collaboration, please come see me with your questions.
Rather than copying someone else's work, ask for help. You are not alone in this course! The course staff is here to help you succeed. If you invest the time to learn the material and complete the projects, you won't need to copy any answers.
- You should try to use email as a tool to set up a one-on-one meeting with me if office hours conflict with your schedule.
- Use the subject line Stat 131A Meeting Request.
- Your message should include at least two times when you would like to meet and a brief (one-two sentence) description of the reason for the meeting.
- Do NOT expect me to reply right away (I may not reply on time).
- If you have an emergency, talk to me later during class or office hours.
- I strongly encourage you to ask questions about the syllabus, covered material, and assignments during class time or lab discussions.
- I prefer to have conversations in person rather than via email, thus allowing us to get to know each other better and fostering a more collegial learning atmosphere.
- In case of cheating/plagiarism suspicion, I do not discuss things by email or bCourses.
Students needing accommodations for any physical, psychological, or learning disability, should speak with me during the first two weeks of the semester, either after class or during office hours and see http://dsp.berkeley.edu to learn about Berkeley’s policy. If you are a DSP student, please contact me at least three weeks prior to a midterm or final so that we can work out acceptable accommodations via the DSP Office.
For relevant DSP accommodations that provide occasional extensions on assignments, we may provide a two-day extension as long as you contact us before the assignment is due. More details about these consideratinos may be discussed with the DSP staff.
If you are an athlete or Cal band member, please check your calendar. Do not take the class if you are not available to take the midterm, final, and/or attend lab discussions. I won't be able to provide accommodations for an early or late exam. Since this is a hands-on programming-based class, I don't allow coaching staff proctoring.
Under emergency/special circumstances, students may petition me to receive an Incomplete grade. By University policy, for a student to get an Incomplete requires (i) that the student was performing passing-level work until the time that (ii) something happened that---through no fault of the student---prevented the student from completing the coursework. If you take the final, you completed the course, even if you took it while ill, exhausted, mourning, etc. The time to talk to me about incomplete grades is BEFORE you take the final (several weeks before), when the situation that prevents you from finishing the course presents itself. Please clearly state your reasoning in your comments to me.
It is your responsibility to develop good time management skills, good studying habits, know your limits, and learn to ask for professional help. Life happens. Social, family, cultural, scholar, and individual circumstances can affect your performance (both positive and negatively). If you find yourself in a situation that raises concerns about passing the course, please come see me as soon as possible.
Above all, please do not wait till the end of the semester to share your concerns about passing the course because it will be too late by then.
Whenever a faculty member, staff member, post-doc, or GSI is responsible for the supervision of a student, a personal relationship between them of a romantic or sexual nature, even if consensual, is against university policy. Any such relationship jeopardizes the integrity of the educational process.
Although faculty and staff can act as excellent resources for students, you should be aware that they are required to report any violations of this campus policy. If you wish to have a confidential discussion on matters related to this policy, you may contact the Confidential Care Advocates on campus for support related to counseling or sensitive issues. Appointments can bemade by calling (510) 642-1988.
The classroom, lab, and work place should be safe and inclusive environments for everyone. The Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) is responsible for ensuring the University provides an environment for faculty, staff and students that is free from discrimination and harassment on the basis of categories including race, color, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Questions or concerns? Call (510) 643-7985, email [email protected], or go to http://survivorsupport.berkeley.edu/.
The main goal of Stat 131A is that you should learn, and have a nice experience doing so. Please keep that goal in mind throughout the semester.