A pilot experimental study comparing different active learning strategies for understanding sampling

This paper reports the preliminary results of an experiment evaluating the effect of two different active learning strategies for learning about the process of sampling. The experiment compared an interactive classroom exercise for taking a sample from a population, to an online simulation method, which had students engage in sampling using an online virtual world. A total of fifteen participants were randomly allocated to one of the two learning strategies where they completed a one-hour sampling lesson. Prior to randomisation, all participants completed a short quiz assessing their current understanding of sampling, in conjunction with rating their attitudes towards statistics. One week after completing their respective sampling task, the students completed a follow-up quiz and questionnaire. Overall, the results of this pilot study indicated that both groups had improved their knowledge of statistical sampling after one week follow-up, however, there was no evidence of a difference between the groups. This paper summarises the results of this pilot study and will utilise the findings to design the next phase of this research.