Simulations, case studies, and an online text: a web-based resource for teaching statistics

The Rice Virtual Laboratory in Statistics is an integrated combination of simulations/demonstrations, case studies, statistical analysis capabilities, and an electronic textbook. The simulations and demonstrations help make abstract concepts concrete and allow students to investigate various aspects of statistical tests and distributions. Case studies demonstrate the real-world applicability of statistical methods. The electronic textbook covers basic concepts in statistics and data analysis and contains links to data analysis tools, instructional simulations/demonstrations, and other on-line texts. An experiment with undergraduate students found that learning by simulation led to better transfer of statistical principles to everyday problems. Materials are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/∼lane/rvls.html.