Peer Review Orientation

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Peer Review Orientation
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CAUSE MERLOT

• Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate
  Statistics Education (CAUSE)
• Mission is to support UG statistics teachers.
• Resources Section www.causeweb.org.
• Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and
  Online Teaching (MERLOT)
• Not just for statistics.
• Resources found at www.merlot.org.

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MERLOT Statistics

• The CAUSE Editorial board is also the MERLOT
  Statistics Editorial board.
• Roger Woodard, Editor. (editor_at_causeweb.org)
• Peer reviewed materials appear in both locations.
• Peer reviews help to
• Pass on expert knowledge.
• Point out possible down sides.

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The Review Process

• Members submit items to MERLOT.
• Staff triage items for review.
• High priority review (4) Remove from process
  (1).
• Each item is assigned to 2 peer reviewers.
• Submit reviews through MERLOT Online review
  system.
• Independent reviews are combined into a
  composite.
• Composite is sent to author for comment.
• Composite is posted to MERLOT/CAUSEweb.

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www.merlot.org
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Starting the Review

• Click the Pencil to begin your review.

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Review Component Description

• Overview
• Type of Material
• Technical Requirements
• Learning Goals
• Recommended Uses
• Target Student Population
• Pre-requisites

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Description

• The Overview will be the first thing users read
  to determine if the item fits their needs.
• It should include
• Subject Matter
• Type of material
• Features
• Target Student Population
• Learning Goals

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Review Component Evaluation

• Content Quality
• Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
• Ease of Use
• Issues and Comments

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Evaluation

• Rate each section on a scale of 0 (poor) to 5
  (excellent).
• Comment on the Strengths and the Concerns.
• Bullets are the easiest way to list comments.
• Give a rating of 5 stars IFF there are no
  concerns.
• In this case write None in the concerns section.

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Content Quality

• Does the item present valid concepts, models, and
  skills?
• Is the information presented by the item
  factually correct?
• Does the item use appropriate vocabulary?
• Does the information presented by the item follow
  generally accepted notation?
• Does the item encourage appropriate statistical
  practice?
• Does the item integrate graphics and multimedia
  when appropriate?

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Content Quality

• Does the item present educationally significant
  concepts, models, and skills?
• Does the item help develop conceptual
  understanding of statistics?
• Is the item non-trivial? Is the level of
  understanding obtained relative to the amount of
  time required?
• Is the item dealing with an important topic?
• Does it deal with a topic that students typically
  find challenging.

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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

• Are the teaching-learning goals easy to identify?
• Can the item be readily integrated into a
  statistics course or curriculum?
• Does the item fit into standard presentation of
  statistics courses?
• Can the item be used with standard texts?

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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

• Does the item promote and/or use effective
  learning strategies?
• Does the item promote active engagement?
• Does the item help develop critical thinking
  skills?
• Will the item promote student discovery?
• Can the learning be readily assessed?

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Ease of Use

• How easy is the item to use for the first time?
• Does the item have a consistent feel and
  appearance?
• Does the item have clear instructions?
• Is the item convenient and inviting to use?
• Does the item provide an effective feedback
  mechanism?
• Can the item be used by individuals with a
  variety of backgrounds/technical skills?
• Is technical support necessary?
• Is the item limited by technical resources such
  as Internet connection speed or special plug-ins?

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Hints for Reviewing

• Set aside an hour to review the item.
• Look over the item, and make notes while
  exploring.
• Think about how you would assign this to
  students.
• Use the Word template to write your review.
• Check spelling.
• Copy and paste into MERLOT.

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First Things First

• Become a registered member of MERLOT.
• Go to www.merlot.org.
• Click Become a Member Today!
• Fill out the form.
• Tell us about types of items youre interested in
  reviewing. Please include
• Courses taught
• Software used
• Other interests background
• Send to rowell_at_mtsu.edu.

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What Happens Next

• We will assign an item through MERLOT.
• MERLOT will send you an email notification.
• Deadlines are three weeks from date assigned.
• If you have time issues, please be sure to let us
  know.
• Let us know if you need a letter for your
  portfolio.