Evaluation of a Workshop to Reduce Negative Perceptions of Statistics in Undergraduate Psychology Students
Abstract
The authors evaluated whether a brief group workshop that combined psycho-education and learning strategies improved self-efficacy, attitudes, and anxiety regarding statistics in psychology students. The workshop was completed in Week 1 of a compulsory 1st-year psychology statistics course. Prior to the workshop, the attendees (n = 10) did not differ from the non-attending control group (n = 17) on statistics self-efficacy, attitudes, or anxiety. These measures were re-assessed after the workshop near the end of semester (Week 10). Workshop attendance resulted in significantly higher self-efficacy, computational self-concept, ...
View more >The authors evaluated whether a brief group workshop that combined psycho-education and learning strategies improved self-efficacy, attitudes, and anxiety regarding statistics in psychology students. The workshop was completed in Week 1 of a compulsory 1st-year psychology statistics course. Prior to the workshop, the attendees (n = 10) did not differ from the non-attending control group (n = 17) on statistics self-efficacy, attitudes, or anxiety. These measures were re-assessed after the workshop near the end of semester (Week 10). Workshop attendance resulted in significantly higher self-efficacy, computational self-concept, and attitudes regarding the worth of statistics, and less fear of statistics teachers. It did not change statistics anxiety. Participants evaluated the workshop as useful, especially the information on effective learning strategies. The results demonstrate that a brief and cost-effective group intervention can improve self-efficacy and attitudes regarding statistics. Improvements to better target anxiety are discussed.
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View more >The authors evaluated whether a brief group workshop that combined psycho-education and learning strategies improved self-efficacy, attitudes, and anxiety regarding statistics in psychology students. The workshop was completed in Week 1 of a compulsory 1st-year psychology statistics course. Prior to the workshop, the attendees (n = 10) did not differ from the non-attending control group (n = 17) on statistics self-efficacy, attitudes, or anxiety. These measures were re-assessed after the workshop near the end of semester (Week 10). Workshop attendance resulted in significantly higher self-efficacy, computational self-concept, and attitudes regarding the worth of statistics, and less fear of statistics teachers. It did not change statistics anxiety. Participants evaluated the workshop as useful, especially the information on effective learning strategies. The results demonstrate that a brief and cost-effective group intervention can improve self-efficacy and attitudes regarding statistics. Improvements to better target anxiety are discussed.
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Journal Title
Psychology Learning & Teaching
Volume
12
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2013 Symposium Journals. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Educational Psychology
Psychology
Cognitive Sciences