Introductory Statistics Textbooks: The Core Concepts Plus Approach D1: Tighten the connection between lower- and upper-level courses. D2: Preserve professor-specific control over textbook content and structure. D3: Save students money. D4: Improve student learning experiences and outcomes. D5: Create a disseminable textbook creation paradigm for other colleges and universities.

IBES CCP-Texts CCP-Text Sections: Professor 1 CCP-Text Sections: Professor 2 CCP-Text Sections: Professor 3 CCP-Text Sections: Professor 4 Marketing Finance Accounting Supply Chain Human Resources Information Systems PI Upper-Level Students

D1: Vertical Integration IBES feeds business majors 10 non-Econ Business faculty in CCP project: – Write questions + solutions (20 each) – Edit sections of CCP text Faculty interact with business community Professional development among faculty participants Upper-level business and economics students enlisted too

D2: Professor-Specific Control Professors care about text organization and content, but often cover the same core concepts – the intersection (85-95%) Informal observation that professors seem to form opinions about a text based on how a small number of selected topics are treated Our core had been established via prior AACSB pressures Professor-specific sections Professor-specific organization, notation, glossary, etc.

D3: Savings Students Money GAO (2005) concludes textbook costs to be about 26% of tuition and fees IBES texts are pricey Options and obstacles: – International editions – Edition frequency – Buy back options CCP? – Free pdf – Toner + paper hard copy in university copy center ($15-ish) – no $ to CCP team. – Total grant award made up in six semesters of use.

D4: Student Feedback What are the biggest strengths of having and using CCP-texts? Cost (48%); Easy to access (23%); Able to search them (16%); Less weight to carry (9%); Other (4%). What are the biggest challenges of having and using CCP-texts? Reading from a computer screen (38%); Need a computer to access (26%); None (15%); Can’t highlight/write notes in book (8%); Getting used to it (6%); Distractions when on the computer (3%); Other (4%).

D4: More Student Feedback Do you like the idea of CCP-texts? Yes (97%); No (3%) Do you think using CCP-texts in school would save money? Yes (98%); No (2%). CCP-texts are as good as print books. Strongly Agree (53%); Agree (34%); Disagree (8%); Strongly Disagree (3%). The bookstore should provide book titles in both print and e-text format. Strongly Agree (53%); Agree (39%); Disagree (4%); Strongly Disagree (1%).

D4: Student Learning Assessment Q1: How do aggregate pre- and post-test results from semesters prior to the e-text compare to aggregate pre- and post-results from semesters when the CCP-texts were used? Q2: Do students taught by the same professor across different semesters learn more when using the CCP-texts versus a traditional textbook?

D4: Student Assessment Results Summary Answer to Q1: The differences (improvement) between pre- and post-test scores between years where the e-text was used and when it was not used were compared. In all of these comparisons, the amount of improvement was statistically significantly higher during the semesters where the CCP-texts were used. Summary Answer to Q2: Only two of the professors had section-level pre- and post-test results from before and after implementing the CCP-texts. For one of these professors, assessment results were not statistically different (t = 0.51); for the other professor the assessment results were statistically significantly higher (t = 3.42) when using the CCP-text.

D5: Dissemination Already being replicated in math department Other universities using it Large enrollment lower-level courses with relatively constant core material Courses concerning current events may not be good choices

Conclusions Bring together best aspects of e-texts and traditional texts – bridge them CCP project has more than paid for itself Good learning outcomes More vertical integration from IBES into business majors Happy professors – preserve professor-specific control, order, notation, etc. Happy students – low/no cost, hard copy and e-text versions available and equally useable, student can keep textbook