Keywords
Statistical Education, Group Work, Task Choice, Project based learning
Description
This is a dataset related to the research article "The Power of Preference: How Assignment Choice Shapes Learning in Statistics" that looks at how student choice of groups and tasks improved learning in the course. The dataset includes all project scores, final grade, exam scores, a results of a self-efficacy survey.
Data Source
An introductory statistics course in a larger southeastern university in 2025. This was a large section course of over 250 students. students completed a consent form to have data included in the research.
Abstract
Assignment choice is an increasingly explored instructional strategy in undergraduate education, particularly in courses where students often struggle to find personal relevance or maintain motivation. In statistics education, where conceptual abstraction and perceived difficulty are common barriers, offering structured choices in group formation and dataset selection may enhance engagement and learning outcomes. This study investigates the effects of assignment choice on student self-efficacy, performance, and group behavior within a large introductory statistics course. Using a one-way ANOVA design, the study compared academic outcomes across three conditions: randomly assigned groups, self-selected groups, and independent work. Students completed six scaffolded projects over a semester, each offering varying levels of autonomy in group and topic selection. Quantitative analysis revealed that group work, whether randomly assigned or self-selected, resulted in higher average performance and greater score stability compared to individual assignments. Student feedback also indicated strong perceived value in collaborative project experiences. These findings suggest that offering structured choice in collaborative formats supports both student autonomy and academic success. The results have implications for instructional design in statistics and other quantitative disciplines, highlighting the pedagogical benefits of flexible group structures and the need for targeted support for students who choose to work independently.
Release Date
5-7-2025
Document Type
Data
Language
English
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
College
science
Campus Location
John C. Hitt Library
Department
Statistics and Data Science
Recommended Citation
Guillemette, Joshua and Jones-Roberts, Charlotte A., "The Power of Preference: How Assignment Choice Shapes Learning in Statistics" (2025). Research Data and Datasets. 20.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/datasets/20
