LEVEL 4

SKILLS FOR COMPUTING

Student Guide

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Skills for Computing Student Guide v1.3
 Modification History

Version Date Revision Description

1.0 June 2011 For Release
1.1 September 2018 Updated TQT
1.2 February 2021 “Global Examination” occurrences changed
to “Time-constrained Assessment’

© NCC Education Limited, 2021

All Rights Reserved

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 CONTENTS

1. Module Overview and Objectives .............................................................................. 6

2. Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria .......................................................... 6
3. Syllabus....................................................................................................................... 7
4. Related National Occupational Standards ................................................................ 8
5. Teaching and Learning............................................................................................... 9
5.1 Lectures........................................................................................................................ 9
5.2 Tutorials ........................................................................................................................ 9
5.3 Seminars ...................................................................................................................... 9
5.4 Laboratory Sessions ................................................................................................... 10
5.5 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 10
6. Further Reading List ................................................................................................. 10
7. Assessment .............................................................................................................. 11
Topic 1: Introduction: Learning to Learn ............................................................................... 12
1.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 12
1.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 12
1.3 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 13
1.3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 13
1.4 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 16
1.5 Tutorial Notes ............................................................................................................. 18
Topic 2: Reading, Listening and Note-taking ........................................................................ 20
2.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 20
2.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 20
2.3 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 21
2.3.1 Active Listening: Introduction........................................................................... 21
2.4 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 24
2.5 Tutorial Notes ............................................................................................................. 26
Topic 3: Writing ....................................................................................................................... 28
3.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 28
3.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 28
3.3 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 29
3.4 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 30
3.5 Tutorial Notes ............................................................................................................. 33
Topic 4: Presentations ............................................................................................................ 34
4.1 Objectives ................................................................................................................... 34
4.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 34

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 4.3 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 35
4.4 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 37
Topic 5: Problem Solving ....................................................................................................... 38
5.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 38
5.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 38
5.3 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 39
5.4 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 40
Topic 6: Creative Thinking...................................................................................................... 44
6.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 44
6.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 44
6.3 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 45
6.3.1 TASC Worksheet ............................................................................................ 46
6.3.2 Six Hats Worksheet ......................................................................................... 51
6.4 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 53
Topic 7: Assignment Preparation .......................................................................................... 58
7.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 58
7.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 58
7.3 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 59
7.4 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 61
7.5 Tutorial Notes ............................................................................................................. 62
Topic 8: Data Acquisition ....................................................................................................... 64
8.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 64
8.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 64
8.3 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 65
8.4 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 68
8.5 Tutorial Notes ............................................................................................................. 70
Topic 9: Charts and Estimates ............................................................................................... 71
9.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 71
9.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 71
9.3 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 72
9.4 Laboratory Sessions ................................................................................................... 73
9.5 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 74
9.6 Tutorial Notes ............................................................................................................. 76
Topic 10: Accuracy and Correlation; Presenting Results ...................................................... 78
10.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 78
10.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 78
10.3 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 79

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 10.4 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 82
10.5 Laboratory Session ..................................................................................................... 85
Topic 11: Regression Analysis ................................................................................................ 87
11.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 87
11.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 87
11.3 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 88
11.4 Tutorial Notes ............................................................................................................. 89
11.4.1 Tutorial Exercises............................................................................................ 89
Topic 12: Data Revision and Exam Preparation ...................................................................... 92
12.1 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................... 92
12.2 Timings ....................................................................................................................... 92
12.3 Seminar Notes ............................................................................................................ 93
12.4 Private Study .............................................................................................................. 94
12.5 Tutorial Notes ............................................................................................................. 95

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 Module Overview

1. Module Overview and Objectives

This unit aims to develop the skills to study at an appropriate level, and the ability to continue
professional development and engage with lifelong learning. The unit incorporates thinking skills
which can be applied to business problems in the IT domain; foundations of data handling and
statistical analysis skills; and communication skills for both technical/professional and academic
purposes.

2. Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Learning Outcomes; Assessment Criteria;
The Learner will: The Learner can:
1. Be able to use various skills to 1.1 Explain strategies and skills to support learning
support the study of Computing at QCF Level 4 and above
1.2 Appreciate the importance of contributing and
listening to discussion-based learning activities
1.3 Write clearly in a style appropriate to learning at
QCF Level 4
1.4 Explain the importance of using citations and
bibliographies and avoiding plagiarism
1.5 Apply a commonly-used system of organising
citations and bibliographies in one's own work
2. Be able to communicate in a 2.1 Explain and apply common industry standards
technical environment for technical documentation
2.2 Employ various media to communicate clearly in
English
2.3 Explain technical issues in a manner appropriate
to a non-technical audience
3. Be able to deploy thinking skills and 3.1 Summarise a range of problem-solving and
problem-solving paradigms in both a creative thinking techniques
business and learning context. 3.2 Apply at least one problem-solving technique to
a business and/or education-based problem
3.3 Apply a creative thinking technique to a problem
based on one's own learning experience
4. Be able to handle and present data 4.1 Extract pertinent data from a given source
4.2 Design an appropriate document or spreadsheet
to record given data
4.3 Record data accurately in a usable manner
4.4 Execute an elementary statistical analysis
4.5 Present data professionally in an appropriate
format to a specified audience
5. Understand the need for lifelong 5.1 Explain the concepts of Continuing Professional
learning Development (CPD) and lifelong learning
5.2 Explain the particular application of CPD and
lifelong learning to the IT Profession

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3. Syllabus
Syllabus
Topic Title Time Content
No
1 Learning to 1/12 • Learning Strategy (CREAM: Creative,
Learn Reflective, Effective, Active, Motivated).
2 hours of lectures • Personal Learning Plans
2 hour of seminars • Learning Situations: Lectures, Seminars,
1 hours of tutorials Tutorials and Labs
• Continuing Professional Development
(CPD) and Lifelong learning: applying your
learning skills in other contexts
Learning Outcomes: 1, 5
2 Reading, 1/12 • Extracting information from written sources
Listening and • Taking notes from a speaker
Note-taking
2 hours of lectures • Taking minutes in a meeting
2 hour of seminars
1 hours of tutorials Learning Outcomes: 1
3 Writing 1/12 • Analysing the question
• Planning and structuring
2 hours of lectures • Introductions and conclusions
1 hour of seminars • Referencing
2 hours of tutorials Learning Outcomes: 1, 2
4 Presentation 1/12 • Presentation Skills: researching, preparing,
Skills presenting and delivering
1 hour of lectures
4 hours of seminars
Learning Outcomes: 2, 4
5 Problem Solving 1/12 • Problem Solving tools and techniques
• Problem definition and analysis
1 hour of lectures • Success criteria and selecting a solution
4 hours of seminars
Learning Outcomes: 3
6 Creative 1/12 • Creative Thinking Techniques: Lateral
Thinking Thinking etc.
1 hour of lectures • Creative Thinking Models: Parallel
4 hours of seminars Thinking (De Bono ‘Six Hats’), TASC
(Thinking Actively in a Social Context)
Learning Outcomes: 1, 3

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 7 Assignment 1/12 • Technical documentation; knowing your
Preparation audience
3 hours of seminars • Proof-reading
2 hours of tutorials • Exercises in writing and problem-solving
based on topics 3-6, practising for
assignment tasks
Learning Outcomes: 1,2,3
8 Data Acquisition 1/12 • Methods of obtaining data
• Types of data
1 hour of lectures • Storing data
3 hours of seminars
1 hours of tutorials
Learning Outcomes: 4
9 Charts and 1/12 • Random variations
Estimates • The importance of normal distributions.
1 hours of lectures • Estimating the mean and median
1 hours of seminars
1 hour of laboratory
sessions
2 hours of tutorials Learning Outcomes: 4

10 Accuracy and 1/12 • Handling uncertainty

Correlation: • Data comparisons
Presenting
Results
2 hours of lectures • Organising information
1 hours of seminars • Charts and plots
2 hours of laboratory • Showing dependence
sessions
Learning Outcomes: 2, 4
11 Regression 1/12 • Pearson correlation
Analysis • Simple linear regression
2 hours of lectures • Spearman correlation
3 hours of tutorials Learning Outcomes: 4
12 Data Handling 1/12 • Revision planning exercise
Revision and • Exercises based on sample exam
Exam questions
3 hours of seminars
Preparation
2 hours of tutorials Learning Outcomes: 1, 3, 4 and 5

4. Related National Occupational Standards

The UK National Occupational Standards describe the skills that professionals are expected to
demonstrate in their jobs in order to carry them out effectively. They are developed by employers
and this information can be helpful in explaining the practical skills that students have covered in this
module.

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 Related National Occupational Standards (NOS)
Sector Subject Area: IT and Telecoms
Related NOS: ESKITP4073 P9-12– Document, under supervision, specified information relating
to system/solution/service designs;
ESKITP5053 P1-5- Assist with gathering and documenting information to support systems
installation, implementation and handover;
ESKITP5054 P5-8- Document and present systems installation, implementation and handover
activities;
ESKITP6015 P9-10- Communicate with others on information management activities;
ESKITP6023 P3-4 - Document IT/technology security management processes

5. Teaching and Learning

Suggested Learning Hours

Guided Learning Hours Assessment Private Study: Total:
Lectures: Tutorial: Seminar: Laboratory:
15 14 28 3 15 hours assignment 71 hours 150
&
4-hour time-constrained
assessment

The teacher-led time for this module is comprised of lectures, seminars, laboratory sessions and
tutorials. You will need to bring this Student Guide to all classes for this module. The breakdown of
the hours for each topic is given in the topic notes below.

5.1 Lectures
Your lecturer will be presenting the basic knowledge and the theoretical concepts required for the
unit during this time. He/she will use PowerPoint slides during the lecture time and you will be
expected to take notes.

You will also be encouraged to be active during this time and discuss and/or practice the concepts
covered. Lectures will include question and answer elements to promote participation and to allow
your lecturer to check whether you understand the concepts they are covering.

5.2 Tutorials
These are designed to deal with the questions arising from the lectures and private study sessions.
You should think carefully beforehand about any areas in which you might need additional guidance
and support and use this time to discuss these with your teacher.

5.3 Seminars
These sessions provide tasks to involve group work, investigation and independent learning for
certain topics. The details of these tasks are provided in this guide.

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5.4 Laboratory Sessions
During these sessions, you are required to work through practical tutorials and various exercises.
The details of these are provided in this guide.

This guide also references additional spreadsheets for use in the laboratory sessions in Topics 9
and 11. These are available from the NCC Education Virtual Learning Environment
(http://vle.nccedu.com/login/index.php).

5.5 Private Study

This Student Guide also contains details of the private study exercises. You are expected to
complete these exercises to improve your understanding. Your tutor will set deadlines for the
completion of this work and go over the suggested answers with you. The deadlines will usually be
before the scheduled tutorials for that topic. Some of the private study tasks may require you to work
in a small group so you will need to plan your time carefully and ensure that you can meet with your
group members to complete the work required before the deadline.

You should also use this time to revise the content of lectures to ensure understanding and conduct
extra reading (using the supplementary textbooks or other materials available in the library or
online). You should bring any questions to the tutorial for additional guidance and support.

6. Further Reading List

You will also be expected to undertake further reading to consolidate and extend your knowledge of
the topics covered in this module. Your Accredited Partner Centre’s library will contain a selection of
useful sources of information. The list below also provides suggestions of suitable reference books
you may like to use:

Cottrell, S. (2008). The Study Skills Handbook (Palgrave Study Skills), 3rd edition. Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan.
ISBN-10: 0230573053
ISBN-13: 978-0230573055

De Bono, E. (2010). Six Thinking Hats. London: Penguin.

ISBN-10: 0141033053
ISBN-13: 978-0141033051

Race, P. (2003). How to Study: Practical Tips for Students, 2nd edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
ISBN-10: 140510693X
ISBN-13: 978-1405106931

Race, P. (2008). How to get a good degree: Making the Most of Your Time at University (Open Up
Study Skills), 2nd edition. Milton Keynes: Open University Press / McGraw-Hill.
ISBN-10: 033522265X
ISBN-13: 978-0335222650

Online Resources:

Bellinger, G., Durval, C. and Mills, A. (2004). Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom. Available
through http://www.systems-thinking.org/.

Wallace, B. (2010). TASC – Thinking Actively in a Social Context. http://www.tascwheel.com/

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Palgrave Macmillan online study skills resource: www.skills4study.com

University of Manchester (UK) Reading Skills site:

http://www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/studyskills/essentials/reading/study_reading.html

University of Manchester (UK) Critical Thinking site:

http://www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/studyskills/essentials/reading/critical_thinking.html

7. Assessment
This module will be assessed by means of an assignment worth 50% of the total mark and a time-
constrained assessment worth 50% of the total mark. These assessments will cover the assessment
criteria given above and students will be expected to demonstrate that they have met the module’s
learning outcomes. Samples assessments are available through the NCC Education Virtual
Learning Environment (http://vle.nccedu.com/login/index.php) for your reference.

Assignments for this module will include topics covered up to and including Topic 7. Questions for
the time-constrained assessment will be drawn from across the syllabus, but with a focus on Topics
8 to 12.

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 Topic 1

Topic 1: Introduction: Learning to Learn

1.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an overview of learning strategies and key skills for effective learning. On
completion of the topic, you will be able to:

• Develop strategies to optimise their learning activities;

• Reflect on their own learning and how to improve it;
• Plan your own learning.

1.2 Timings
Lectures: 2 hours

Seminars: 2 hours

Private Study: 6 hours

Tutorials: 1 hour

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1.3 Seminar Notes
The seminars for this topic will last for 2 hours.

1.3.1 Introduction

In this session, we will prepare a learning self-evaluation form to use throughout this module, and a
set of goals and objectives to accompany it, which will help to motivate our learning.

Activity 1: Reflective Learning: Personal Learning Self-evaluation

The model below is a possible format for a personal learning self-evaluation. The left-hand column
gives areas for reflection; the right-hand column is used to record the reasons and evidence for
these reflections. It should be noted that evidence is very important when trying to evaluate your
own learning critically – we often feel that we are better or worse at something than we really are.
Often we can only clearly see our strengths and weaknesses when looking for firm evidence of our
own performance. This is why recording feedback on your work is so important.

Module:

Area of Reflection Evidence and Reasoning

1. In general terms, how well am I performing in What are my reasons for this self-evaluation?
this module?

2(a) What are my main strengths in this module? What are my reasons for this self-evaluation?
What do I do best?

2(b) Why am I better at these aspects?

3(a) What are my main areas of weakness in this What are my reasons for this self-evaluation?
module? Where do I struggle to succeed?

3(b) Why do I struggle with these aspects?

3(c) What can I do to improve in these aspects? What is my timescale for this improvement?

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Module:

Area of Reflection Evidence and Reasoning

4(a) What have I learnt since I began this What are my reasons for this self-evaluation?
module?

4(b) What areas have I improved in since I

began this module?

(Adapted from: Cottrell, S. (2008). The Study Skills Handbook (Palgrave Study Skills), 3rd edition.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, p62.)

Look at the template above and start to think of the types of evidence which might be useful for self-
evaluation. Make a list, then discuss in small groups.

Now, on your own, add notes to the plan about what you have learned during the first lecture. When
you have finished, compare them to others in your class. Have you learned similar or different things
so far? Remember that learning is a personal experience, and don’t worry if others have picked out
different elements on their plans.

You need to add to this plan throughout the Skills for Computing module. We will revisit it in a later
topic. If you haven't been keeping records of this evidence for self-evaluation as you go along, you
will find it much harder to complete later.

Activity 2: Effective Learning: Personal Learning Plan

Start to develop your own personal learning plan. Discuss the content of your plan with other
students and/or your tutor(s). The plan should generally be completed in the following way:

1. Identify your motivations for learning

2. Identify your strengths and weaknesses as a learner

3. Based on your motivations, write a draft of your long-term objectives

4. Based on your strengths and weaknesses, write a draft of your short-term goals. Think of these
as a bridge – what do you need to achieve in order to get from where you are to where you
want to be? How do you overcome your weaknesses and build on your strengths in order to
meet your long-term objectives?

5. Plan your learning activities – week by week – and keep this up-to-date as you go along.

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Personal Learning Plan
Motivations (why am I studying this programme?)
•
•
•
Learning Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths Weaknesses

Goals and Objectives

Short-Term Goals
Number Goal Success Criteria Timeframe
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Long-Term Objectives
Objective Checkpoints and related Success Criteria Timeframe
short-term goals
A:
B:
C:
Plan of Learning Activities
Week Commencing (date): Activity Related Goal/Objective(s)

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1.4 Private Study
You should spend approximately 6 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1: Effective Learning: Time Circles

1. Draw a circle and divide it into 24 segments. The circle represents one day, and each segment
represents one hour.

2. Mark off sections for each of the main activities which you do during a typical day. An example
is given below.
00:00

18:00 06:00

12:00

3. Now draw a new circle which shows how you would like to use your time. What steps can you
take to achieve this?

(Adapted from: Cottrell, S. (2008). The Study Skills Handbook (Palgrave Study Skills), 3rd edition.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, p 75-76)

Exercise 2: Reflective Learning: Learning Journal

Start a learning journal. This doesn't work for everyone, but it very often is an effective way to
develop your own learning.

A learning journal is just for you – you don't have to show it to anyone else but, of course, you may
wish to do this. You can write anything that you think is relevant in the journal. Here are a few
suggestions to begin with:

• How do you feel about the programme in general?

• How do you feel about your classmates and tutors?

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• What challenges and difficulties have you faced so far?
• Has your attitude or motivation changed?
• In what environment have you learnt most effectively?
• What are the most important things you have learnt?
• How does what you have learnt relate to 'real life'?

Remember that a learning journal doesn't have to be written in a notebook. You could keep a series
of entries in a folder on your computer or as memos or voice recordings in a mobile phone. You
could even keep a public learning journal in a blog. The possibilities are endless; what matters is the
act of writing it, not how it is presented or where/how it is kept.

(Adapted from: Cottrell, S. (2008). The Study Skills Handbook (Palgrave Study Skills), 3rd edition.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, p63)

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1.5 Tutorial Notes
The tutorials for this topic will last for 1 hour. You can expect to spend some of this time discussing
your answers to the Private Study exercises with your lecturer and other students. Your lecturer will
also direct you on completing the tasks below.

Exercise 1: Reflective Learning: Seminar self-evaluation

The self-evaluation chart below looks at how we get the most out of seminar activities by
contributing to the class. You can use it for every topic in this module, and indeed many topics on
this diploma, if desired.

Aspect for Consideration 1 = poor, 5 = excellent

1. Had I done enough preparation for the seminar? 1 2 3 4 5

2. Did I make any contributions during the 1 2 3 4 5

seminar?

3. Did I speak too much, or over other people? 1 2 3 4 5

4. Were my questions and comments relevant to 1 2 3 4 5

the discussion?

5. Did I listen to the questions and comments that 1 2 3 4 5

other people made?

6. Did I take good enough notes? 1 2 3 4 5

7. Did I pay attention throughout or get distracted? 1 2 3 4 5

8. Do I know what I need to do to prepare for the 1 2 3 4 5

next session?

9. What could I do better in the next seminar?

1. Try filling this out for the seminar you attended for Topic 1 of this module.

2. Now compare answers with some others in your class. Are they similar or different? Do you
tend to choose extreme responses (ones and fives) or tend towards the middle (threes)?

(Adapted from: Cottrell, S. (2008). The Study Skills Handbook (Palgrave Study Skills), 3rd edition.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, p104)

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 Topic 2

Topic 2: Reading, Listening and Note-taking

2.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an overview of reading, listening and note-taking skills. On completion of the
topic, you will be able to:

• Efficiently extract information from a written source;

• Listen actively to extract information from speech;
• Take notes in an effective manner.

2.2 Timings
Lectures: 2 hours

Seminars: 2 hours

Private Study: 6 hours

Tutorials: 1 hour

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2.3 Seminar Notes
The seminars for this topic will last for 2 hours.

2.3.1 Active Listening: Introduction

REPEATING PARAPHRASING REFLECTING

Perceiving Perceiving Perceiving

Remembering Remembering Remembering

Rendering a
message through Thinking and Thinking and
Reasoning
Exact Repetition Reasoning

Rendering a message
using similar words
and phrase structures Adapting

Rendering a
message using
your own words
(Adapted from a diagram by Imelda Bickham (http://www.people-communicating.com/communicator.html),
published under a Creative Commons License (GNU Free Documentation License v1.2). Original image available
from Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Active-listening-chart.png)

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Activity 1: Listen and Repeat

Work in pairs, as directed by your lecturer.

a. Person A reads out a sentence. This can be anything from a textbook, newspaper or
magazine. Person B should try to repeat it word for word. Now swap over.

b. Next, Person A should read a paragraph of three or four sentences. Again, Person B should
try to repeat this word for word. Now swap over and repeat a few times.

Do you begin to find it easier? This is a skill that can be learned by practising.

c. Now, Person A should again read out a paragraph of three or four sentences (at a normal
speed, without pauses). Person B should attempt to write it down word for word.

Why do you think this is harder? Discuss in your pairs, and then feedback to the whole
group.

Activity 2: Listen and Paraphrase

Work in pairs, as directed by your lecturer.

a. Person A reads out a sentence. Person B should try to repeat the meaning of the sentence
in their own words without repeating it verbatim (word for word). Now swap over.

b. Next, Person A should read a paragraph of three or four sentences. Again, Person B should
try to repeat the sense and meaning of the paragraph without using the same words. Now
swap over and repeat a few times.

c. Person A should again read out a paragraph of three or four sentences (at a normal speed,
without pauses). Person B should attempt to write down the sense of what they say.

Now Person B reads back what they have written; does Person A understand it to mean the
same thing? Now swap over and repeat a few times.

d. Is it easier to write notes which explain the sense of a paragraph than to write down a
paragraph word-for-word? Discuss this in your pairs and then feedback to the whole group.

Activity 3: Listen, Understand and Reflect

Work in pairs, as directed by your lecturer.

a. Person A reads out a few sentences.

Person B: take a moment to reflect on what has been said to you.

• What did each sentence mean?
• What were the key points? Write them down.
• Now think of a way in which you can reflect the meaning of these sentences in an
entirely new way. Perhaps you can think of a metaphor to describe what Person A
has said to you? Or maybe you can give an example which demonstrates the point of
what they have said? You could even draw a picture or diagram and describe what
you have drawn to demonstrate that you have understood the meaning.

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 • When you have done this, explain back to Person A what you think is the meaning of
what they said.

Person A:
• How well did your partner understand your meaning?
• Explain to them what aspects they have and have not reflected back to you
accurately.

b. Now swap over and repeat the exercise.

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2.4 Private Study
You should spend approximately 6 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1: Research and Make Notes

You should complete this exercise before the seminar for this topic.

a. Look up sources of information which relate to Active Listening. These may be in books,
journals or reliable sites on the Internet.

b. Make notes on these sources, remembering the techniques explained in the lecture. Use the
Cornell system to make your notes, and remember to write a section summary in the box at
the bottom of each page. A template is given overleaf which you can use as a model for this.
Don’t forget to keep a list of your sources as well.

Exercise 2: Research and Make Notes

Use available sources from your centre library (or public library) and the Internet to:

a. List the sections which a set of meeting minutes should contain.

b. List some of the key activities of a minute-taker.

c. List some of the common problems faced when taking minutes.

d. Indicate how taking minutes is similar to taking notes in lectures? How is it different? Write a
short comparison of the two.

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Cue Column Notes

Summary Box

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2.5 Tutorial Notes
The tutorials for this topic will last for 1 hour. You can expect to spend some of this time discussing
your answers to the Private Study exercises with your lecturer and other students. Your lecturer will
also direct you on completing the tasks below.

Exercise 1:

Based on the final part of Private Study Exercise 2, discuss with your class the similarities and
differences between taking notes in a lecture and taking minutes in a meeting.

Exercise 2:

What transferable skills do you think you have developed in this module so far? You may wish to
discuss this in broader terms, and think about everything you have learned up to now and how it
might apply in a professional environment.

Exercise 3:

During the lecture, we learned about two types of reading for academic use – speed reading and
detailed reading (SQ3R).

Looking ahead to the rest of the module, which subjects in ‘Skills for Computing’ do you think you
will need to read about in detail, and what areas can you identify where speed-reading ‘around the
topic’ might be appropriate? A good starting point might be to look at the Learning Outcomes and
Syllabus in the module specification, if you aren’t already familiar with them.

Make a list of these areas, and discuss these with the other students in your group.

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 Topic 3

Topic 3: Writing

3.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an overview of academic writing. On completion of the topic, you will be able to:

• Analyse a question in order to establish the requirements of a task;

• Understand the essentials of writing essay-style answers at a Higher Education level;
• Correctly reference sources and quotations in text;
• Write a reference list.

3.2 Timings
Lectures: 2 hours

Seminars: 1 hour

Private Study: 5 hours

Tutorials: 2 hours

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3.3 Seminar Notes
The seminars for this topic will last for 1 hour.

Activity 1: Harvard Referencing

Work in small groups and re-write the text below.

You will need to:

• Use correct Harvard references.

• Provide a reference list in an appropriate style at the end.
• Ensure the style is appropriate. What sort of tone have you seen in textbooks and journals?
Formal or colloquial? Make sure that your text has an appropriate tone.

HOW NOT TO WRITE AND REFERENCE:

ECommerce platforms now and in the future.

I have studied extensively the use of eCommerce platforms in industry, and it is very clear that in the
modern world we can’t live without them. There are lots of different ones available.

We can see from the book “E-business and ECommerce Management: Strategy, Implementation,
and Practice” by Dave Chaffey, that it’s very hard for a business to remain competitive in the market
without having eCommerce. Even though the book, which is published in Essex by Pearson and
Prentice Hall, was published way back in 2004, nevertheless it is still quite good for this subject.

It talks about different types of ecommerce transactions (like auction types on page 58) as well as
the different strategies using eCommerce, such as e-procurement, Business-to-business and
business-to-customer transactions and other things. At the end, there are some chapters on e-
marketing (p336) and customer resource management (p390) which give a broader view of what can
be done with eCommerce.

All of this means that it is very hard to imagine a world without eCommerce.

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3.4 Private Study
You should spend approximately 5 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1: Preparation for the Seminar Session

Before the seminar, read the text on the next page on Harvard Referencing.

Exercise 2:

Analyse the question below, making notes on the task required and highlighting the key words.

Discuss the following statement: One hundred years from now, everyone in the world will
own a mobile computing device

Exercise 3:

Write a clear argument supporting the statement in Exercise 2. You will need to identify at least two
sources which support your argument and reference them correctly.

Exercise 4:

Write a clear argument opposing the statement in Exercise 2. You will need to identify at least two
sources which support your argument and reference them correctly.

Exercise 5:

Present the sources which you used to write the arguments above in the form of a reference list in
the Harvard style.

Exercise 6:

Complete the ‘fast writing’ exercise which you discussed during the lecture. You will need to bring
your original first draft and your new draft to the tutorial for this topic. If possible, you should make 3
photocopies of each one.

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 Harvard Referencing Worksheet
The Harvard Referencing system is used throughout the world in academic institutions, and is a
requirement of all NCC Education assignment submissions.

Part One: In-text reference style

We reference sources included in the reference list using parentheses. Within the parentheses, we
give the Author’s Surname and Year of Publication of the source, and if appropriate the Page
Number, like this: (Davenport, 2011: 63).

This means that in the reference list which is ordered alphabetically, we can look down to the
author’s name, then if we have referenced more than one work by that author we can identify which
one by the year, and if we want to find that source in a library then the page number lets us
immediately turn to the relevant part.

If we wish to make a point without directly quoting a source but still making reference to it as the
point of origin of an idea or argument, we can place our reference in-line at the end of a sentence
like this (Davenport, 2011: 89-99).

Alternatively, if we wish to reference at the end of a quotation, we do so like this:

Direct quotations should be indented on both sides like this. Direct

quotations should be indented on both sides like this. Direct quotations
should be indented on both sides like this.

(Davenport, 2011: 121)

Note that when a direct quotation is presented with indentations in this way, it does not require
“quotation marks”; if a quotation is more than a few words long, it is best to indent is as shown
above.

Part Two: Reference list style

The Harvard style reference list is ordered by the author’s surname, and includes the following key
items of information and formatting standards.

Name, Initial (Year). Title of work. Location of publisher, name of publisher.

For example:

Davenport, G. (2011). How to write essays and influence people. Manchester, NCC Press

If referencing an article in a journal or book which is a collection of works, we use the following
standard:

Woodsmoor, H. (2010). A survey of computing students and their essay-writing habits. In

Grove, H (ed.) A collection of surveys relating to computing students. Kuala Lumpur, MY
Publications Ltd.

Disley, P. H. (2009). A journal article of great distinction. In the Journal of Interesting Articles,
volume 6 (winter 2009). Cape Town, RSA Press.

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When referencing a website, it may not always be possible to identify the author or title, though we
should do so whenever possible. Website references must include a URL and the date on which the
site was visited and the information retrieved. For example:

Bellinger, G., Durval, C. and Mills, A. (2004). Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom.
http://www.systems-thinking.org/dikw/dikw.htm. Retrieved 10th February 2011.

Remember:

Always reference every source you use, however little you use it. If you fail to do so, you
are committing plagiarism

Reference ideas, not just quotations. Anything that is not your own original idea must be
referenced.

Use good sources with reliable authors

Put all your sources in a reference list, and order it alphabetically by surname.

See also: NCC Education Plagiarism and Referencing guidance, available through the NCC
Education Virtual Learning Environment (http://vle.nccedu.com/login/index.php).

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3.5 Tutorial Notes
The tutorials for this topic will last for 1 hour. You can expect to spend some of this time discussing
your answers to the Private Study exercises with your lecturer and other students. Your lecturer will
then direct you on completing the tasks below.

Exercise 1:

In groups of two or three, discuss the solutions which you wrote to the private study exercises. Your
group should then devise the following, based on a combination of your individual answers:

• Identification of the task and scope implied by the question

• A plan for an essay to answer this question, including the key arguments for and against the
statements, and notes on what would be included in the introduction and conclusion.
• A reference list containing all of the sources which members of the group had consulted.

Exercise 2:

Referencing is often seen as a ‘chore’ which is required in academic work; however there are very
good and important reasons for referencing correctly.

In groups, discuss why you need to reference correctly in your writing. Try to think of as many
possible reasons as you can; you should be able to come up with at least four or five.

Exercise 3:

During the lecture, you were asked to carry out a ‘fast writing’ task, and then to revise what you
wrote before this tutorial class.

1. Looking at both the rough draft that you wrote quickly during the lecture and the improved
version you have prepared, discuss how helpful you found this approach.

2. Share your rough and improved drafts with other students in your group. Did you make the
same improvements as others, or have you focussed on improving different areas (content,
style, use of English etc.)?

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 Topic 4

Topic 4: Presentations

4.1 Objectives
This topic provides an overview of presentations. On completion of the topic, you will be able to:

• Prepare and deliver a presentation.

4.2 Timings
Lectures: 1 hour

Seminars: 4 hours

Private Study: 6 hours

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4.3 Private Study
You should spend approximately 6 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1: Evaluation Criteria

Design a Presentation Evaluation Sheet, with which you will evaluate the presentations of others in
your class. Use the table below and add additional categories, criteria and weightings.

Category Criteria Weighting

Introduction Is it clear and concise? 5%

Does it introduce the speaker(s)?
Does it explain the scope of the presentation?

In order to construct a good evaluation sheet, you will need to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is essential to a good presentation? (These will be your Categories)

• What is non-essential but still important enough to include?
• If a presentation is to be successful in a particular category, what will it achieve? (These will be
your Criteria)
• What are the most and least important categories? (This will inform your weightings)
• If someone judged my presentation against these criteria, would I feel that I had been judged
fairly?

Exercise 2: Prepare an Individual Presentation

Prepare a presentation on your own, on one of the following subjects:

• “The role of Information Technology in the expansion of a small business”

• “Learning Strategies in Higher Education”
• “How the internet has changed society in the last ten years”

You will deliver this presentation to the rest of the class in the seminar session.

Exercise 3: Prepare a Group Presentation

Work in groups of between two and five as instructed by your lecturer.

Design a group presentation on one of the following subjects:

• “How to avoid plagiarism in academic writing”

• “Introduction to the C.R.E.A.M. learning strategies model”
• “What skills does the IT professional need for the modern business world?”

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You should produce the following within your group:

• The outline content for a set of slides

• Notes to go with each slide to help delivery

You will also need to identify who will deliver each part of the presentation (everyone must deliver
something).

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4.4 Seminar Notes
The seminars for this topic will last for 4 hours.

Activity 1:

Discuss your Evaluation Criteria with others in your class. What criteria did everyone identify, and
where are the differences between your evaluation grids?

Decide on a final version of the grid to use for this session. Remember that there are no right and
wrong answers to this.

Activity 2:

You will now give your individual presentation to the rest of the group.

Use the Evaluation Form you created in Activity 1 to prepare feedback on each presentation you
hear (NB not numerical marks). You should give feedback to every member of the group.

Activity 3:

You will now give your group presentation to the class. The rest of the class will act as the 'audience'
and make notes. The 'audience' will then give your group verbal feedback.

You will then act as a member of the audience as above while you listen to the presentations of the
other groups.

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 Topic 5

Topic 5: Problem Solving

5.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an overview of different approaches to problem solving. On completion of the
topic, you will be able to:

• Analyse a problem in context;

• Define success criteria for solving a problem;
• Propose solutions to a problem;
• Evaluate solutions against success criteria;
• Select a solution based on evaluation.

5.2 Timings
Lectures: 1 hour

Seminars: 4 hours

Private Study: 6 hours

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5.3 Private Study
You should spend approximately 6 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1:

During the seminar sessions for this topic, you will be asked to work in groups to solve the following
problem:

You are employed by a company which sells clocks and watches. They have a chain of five shops in
different cities in your country. They want to begin selling their products on the internet, and so you
have been asked to look at the possible eCommerce systems that they could use to do this.

The Board of Directors is wary of risking too much money on this, in case no-one buys the products
online. However, the system has to look professional to the customer and must be secure in order to
inspire confidence in online purchasing. Finally, and most importantly, the system must work
consistently and effectively.

In order to be able to solve this problem effectively in your seminar class, you will need to carry out
some research on the Internet into different commercially-available eCommerce systems. Look into
several of these and make detailed notes, including notes of costs, functionality and availability in
your country. Also look into any local companies who provide eCommerce solutions in your area.

Exercise 2:

During the seminar sessions, you will be asked to carry out tasks related to transformations,
modularity and lateral thinking. You should familiarise yourself with these ideas, which are
explained in the seminar notes, in advance of the class. Read around these concepts, either in the
library or on the Internet (or if possible, both). Make notes on all you read, and ask your peers or
tutors if you do not understand the seminar notes ahead of the session.

Now practice your skills by setting yourself imaginary problems to solve. Try out some lateral
thinking and transformations/metaphors on your own.

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5.4 Seminar Notes
The seminars for this topic will last for 4 hours.

Activity 1: Problem Solving

Problem

You are employed by a company which sells clocks and watches. They have a chain of five shops in
different cities in your country. They want to begin selling their products on the internet, and so you
have been asked to look at the possible eCommerce systems that they could use to do this.

The Board of Directors is wary of risking too much money on this in case no-one buys the products
online. However, the system has to look professional to the customer and must be secure in order to
inspire confidence in online purchasing. Finally, and most importantly, the system must work
consistently and effectively.

Work in groups of between two and four, using the research you gathered as part of your private
study.

Following the five stages outlined in the lecture, work together to:

1. Define the goal and scope of this problem

2. Produce a list of success criteria

3. Produce a list of possible solutions

4. Evaluate solutions against success criteria

5. Select a ‘best fit’ solution

Once you have worked through all five stages, prepare a presentation for the rest of your class. The
presentation should explain each stage in order, including all the possible solutions which you
considered, and a justification of your selection.

Activity 2: Lateral Thinking

Choose two unrelated everyday objects in your home. List every imaginable connection between
them.

Example: A book and a guitar

• Similar weight (if the book is large!)

• Both would burn easily
• Both made from materials derived from trees
• Both made in the same country?
• Perhaps they were both bought in the same year, city or street?
• Etc.

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Now exchange your list with someone else in your class. Do you think of the same connections
between objects? Do you even own the objects which the other person has chosen? This is why a
problem is best solved by many minds!

Discuss amongst the whole group how similar or different your lists were.

Consider:

• How many connections each of you came up with on your own

• How many connections two of you could think of together

Activity 3: Transformations and Metaphors

It is often helpful to visualise a problem in terms of a different one with equivalent constraints. This is
referred to as a metaphor, and transformation is the act of imagining how the ‘real’ situation
translates into the metaphorical one, and back again. Here is an example:

Two competing engineering companies require the same raw material. It is mined in four locations.
All of the mines are owned by the government, which will not favour one company over the other –
therefore they need to negotiate an amicable arrangement for sharing resources. The largest mine
has exactly the same output as the other three combined.

Let us imagine instead that I am sharing a piece of cake with a friend; I will cut it into two slices, but I
will then allow my friend to choose which slice she would like first.

Transforming this metaphor into a solution would work as follows: representatives from Company A
look at the output of the four mines, and identify that the first mine produces as much as the other
three combined. Therefore they propose that one company takes all the resources from the largest
mine and the other uses the three small mines; they then invite Company B to choose which they
would prefer.

Discuss in small groups the following questions:

• In the problem which we addressed earlier in the seminar session (the eCommerce system for
clock and watch sales), could we have used transformation as a technique for generating
solutions?
• If so, how? If not, why not?

Activity 4: Modularity

Another use of transformation is to build up towards the solution of a problem starting from simpler
versions. This approach, which is useful in programming, lends itself to modularity. When you have
a large and complex problem, it can be hard to isolate individual areas of difficulty. Thus you get a
simple version working, and then you add a single new component and get that working, and so on.

1. In groups, consider the college where you are currently studying. Imagine that you have to build
a computer system for your college – one single system to carry out every computerised activity
which takes place on the site.

2. Think of as many things as possible which this system would need to do. Now group them
together as modules – i.e. small problems which could be solved with a micro-system. Here is
an example to help you get started:

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Transforming a standard company finance computer system:

Tasks the system has to do:

• Keep a record of names and addresses of teaching staff

• Keep a record of staff teaching hours
• Keep a record of hourly/weekly/monthly salaries paid to staff

Module:

Staff finance module – this micro-system needs to be able to store data on staff names,
addresses, teaching hours and salaries, and also make automated bank payments to
teaching staff

3. When you have all of the tasks grouped together in modules, draw a diagram of how these fit
together.

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 Topic 6

Topic 6: Creative Thinking

6.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an introduction to two different creative thinking frameworks. On completion of
the topic, you will be able to:

• Apply creative thinking techniques to problem scenarios in a structured manner.

6.2 Timings
Lectures: 1 hour

Seminars: 4 hours

Private Study: 6 hours

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6.3 Private Study
You should spend approximately 6 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1:

Read the TASC Worksheet given in Section 6.3.1 below in preparation for the seminar.

Exercise 2:

Research the concept of “Whole-Brain Thinking” using a range of sources. Make notes for reference
later. Be prepared to discuss your research in the seminar session.

Exercise 3:

Read the Six Hats Worksheet given in Section 6.3.2 below in preparation for the seminar.

Exercise 4:

Research the concept of Parallel Thinking and some of its applications in the business world. Make
notes about the latter.

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6.3.1 TASC Worksheet

TASC (Thinking Actively in a Social Context) was originally developed by Belle Wallace for use in
schools in Southern Africa, but has been continuously expanded over a number of years to be
applied in a variety of educational situations.

The principles behind TASC are stated as follows:

Firstly, provide teachers with a creative problem-solving framework that would

allow them to make full use of their natural gifts and skills; and secondly, provide
learners with the scaffolding they need to move increasingly towards
independent, autonomous learning that celebrated their many and diverse gifts.

(Wallace, 2011, online)

TASC is founded on the TASC Wheel:

Learn from Gather /

Experience Organise

Identify
Communicate

Evaluate Generate

Implement
Decide

[Adapted from the TASC Website; www.tascwheel.com. © Belle Wallace]

The eight phases of TASC are defined and organised as follows:

Phase One: Gather/Organise

The starting point of a TASC cycle, this phase involves the pooling of existing resources of
knowledge within a working group.

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 What do we do? What tools can we use?

Recall all existing knowledge relevant to the Brainstorming

problem (however tangentially) Mind Mapping
Record this knowledge

Organise this knowledge

Phase Two: Identify

Phase 2 involves identifying the scope of the problem or task and the success criteria by which it will
later be evaluated

What do we do? What tools can we use?

Define the task/problem Skills learned in Topic 3 for analysing

an essay question can be applied here.
Identify the scope and parameters of the problem or task

Define the goals and objectives: what, in the simplest Writing Success Criteria is not very
terms, are we trying to achieve? different to writing Evaluation Criteria
for presentations, which you did in the
Define success criteria: how will we know when we have seminar of Topic 4. Look back to this
achieved our goals/objectives? exercise.

Ask questions to each other – expand understanding of

the problem at hand

Phase Three: Generate

This is the most creative phase, involving what is often called “Blue Sky Thinking”. You will gather
every possible idea for how to solve the problem or complete the task which you can think of,
however improbable or impossible – nothing is excluded. This is also the typical 'Right-brained'
phase of thinking.

What do we do? What tools can we use?

Every group member thinks of every possible idea Brainstorming

for solving the problem or completing the task “Blue-sky” thinking
No idea is excluded for now, even if others Lateral thinking
consider it non-viable or impossible. Metaphors

Try to work off the ideas of others – how can you

modify an idea from someone else in the group
based on your own personal abilities and
experiences?

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Phase Four: Decide

This is the most logical and rational phase, a complete contrast to the previous one, and a typical
'Left-brained' phase. In the 'Decide' phase learners consider the factors which make ideas non-
viable as a solution to a problem or task.

What do we do? What tools can we use?

List factors which could make an idea non-viable; e.g. time Critical thinking
constraints, financial and human resources available, health and
safety concerns

Compare the ideas generated in the previous stage with the list
of restricting factors. Eliminate non-viable ideas.

Now compare the remaining ideas with your work on the scope
of the project from phase
Eliminate any ideas which are out of scope or do not address
the problem/task as you have analysed/defined it

From the remaining ideas, discuss the pros and cons, and
decide on which solution you will proceed with

Phase Five: Implement

At this point, the optimum solution should be implemented. However, for the time being, we're
interested in the ‘thinking’ rather than the product or project, so this phase will be left alone for the
time being.

Phase Six: Evaluate

This phase involves criticism of the work which has been done, and judgements based on the
success criteria established in phase two.

What do we do? What tools can we use?

Look at the success criteria which you developed in Phase 2. Evaluation against success criteria
Has your solution fulfilled these criteria? If not, which has it Critical Thinking
failed to fulfil?

Questions to ask:
What have I/we done?
How well was it done?
Did I/we make the right decisions, in hindsight?
How could I/we do it better?
Did I/we solve the problem?

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 Thinking Involved
Discuss whether the goal was achieved
Check against criteria
Consider ways to improve
Target specific ways to improve
Give opportunity for re-doing / improving
Check on group / individual efficiency

Phase Seven: Communicate

This phase involves the sharing of the learning experience with others.

What do we do? What tools can we use?

Identify who we can and should share our learning with. This Presentation
might be peers in a class, or later on journals and publishers; Report
the internet is also an ever-growing vehicle for sharing
information

Ask: what is the best way to share this information? Think

about your audience – how will they find it easiest to
understand your message?

How can we explain what we have learned?

Phase Eight: Learn from Experience

One of the unique aspects of TASC is that it is a circular model. The final stage is where learning
turns into personal development. By consolidating the skills and knowledge which we have acquired
while solving a problem, we increase our core knowledge – which is brought to bear in Phase One
of the next problem that we need to solve.

What do we do? What tools can we use?

What have you learned? Make a list. Start by going back to Self-reflection (see Topic One)
the evaluation stage and looking at what went well and what
did not; what do you now know that you did not know then,
and which will help you to avoid making the same mistakes
next time?

What skills did you use in solving this problem? Have those
skills developed in any way? Did you acquire new skills on
the way?

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 How have you changed? This might relate to how you
interact with other members of a team, how your social
relationships with your peers have developed, etc. - you may
also be more confident after developing a successful
solution.

How can you use what you have learned in other contexts?'

References

• http://www.tascwheel.com/
• http://www.tascwheel.com/belle-wallace

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6.3.2 Six Hats Worksheet

The idea of the Six Hats is simple – each (imaginary) Hat represents an attitude, mindset or position.
We adopt this position as wholeheartedly as possible when we ‘put on’ the Hat, and then look at the
problem in question from that viewpoint.

The overview of the Six Hats is given as follows:

• White Hat is neutral and objective; concerned with facts, figures and proof.

• Red Hat allows an intuitive, emotional response, unconstrained by logic.

• Black Hat is cautious, critical and careful – it looks for weaknesses in an idea.

• Yellow Hat is positive, optimistic and looks for the benefits and ‘up sides’ in any idea

• Green Hat indicates creativity and new ideas

• Blue Hat is cool and detached, concerned with control and organisation of the thinking
process.

We can think of the six hats as three pairs:

White: Neutral/Objective Red: Emotional

Black: Critical Yellow: Positive

Blue: Detached Green: Creative

You should also note that, of each pair, the one on the left is a predominantly left-brained activity
(white, black, blue) whilst the one on the right is a predominantly right-brained activity (red, yellow,
green).

Using the Hats

There are two basic forms of application – serial and parallel. In a serial application, an idea is
subjected to the viewpoint of each hat in turn. We do this often on a smaller and less ordered scale;
for example, a list of pros and cons for an idea is nothing more than subjecting it to the yellow and
black hat viewpoints in turn. The white hat – red hat opposition (rational vs. emotional) will also be
familiar to many. The serial application can be carried out by one person or a group. Parallel
application, on the other hand, is always a group thinking model. In this format, every member of a
group wears one hat and engages in the discussion using only that viewpoint. The Blue Hat is
traditionally worn by the chair or facilitator; variants of the parallel application involve other members
switching between hats (e.g. half of the group white, half red – then change to half yellow, half black,
and so on). There is also the opportunity to ‘pass the blue hat’, effectively making someone else the
chair and therefore allowing everyone to facilitate for part of a discussion.

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When using the Six Hats in a group, it is always essential to have a chair or facilitator, and it is
equally essential that only the chair can determine which hat is being worn by whom. In other words,
it is never permissible to say “I would just like to look at this from a black-hat viewpoint”, since that is
simply allowing members of the group to fall back into their ‘comfort zones’ and normal modes of
thinking. One of the great benefits of Six Hats is to force people to think from different viewpoints –
ones that they adapt naturally, and ones that they do not. As a result, a certain amount of discipline
and enforcement from the chair are vital.

However the Hats are used, there is always a great deal of flexibility in their application; there is
never a fixed order, though first-time chairs/facilitators are advised to plan the order in advance
along with the time allowed under each hat. There are situations when we might not want to use all
of the hats, or where certain hats need to be ‘heard’ for longer or given more regard. For example, in
particularly stressful or difficult circumstances, a facilitator might want to limit the use of the Red Hat
to try to avoid people becoming angry or upset. There are also occasions – though they are rare –
when there is simply nothing to say under a give hat; for example, an idea might be so brilliant that
there is no possible criticism of it under the black hat, or so terrible that no-one can find a positive
element in it!

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6.4 Seminar Notes
The seminars for this topic will last for 4 hours.

Exercise 1: Using the TASC Framework

Work in a small group of between 2 and 5 people as directed by your lecturer. Apply the TASC
framework to the following problem.

You are employed by a small bookshop to build them an eCommerce platform. This will allow
people to buy their stock over the internet. How will you go about designing and building this
system?

Think about:

• What the system needs to do, and what more it could potentially do?
• What you will need to make it happen (people, skills)
• What resources are available (e.g. free software packages that you could use)?

During the 'Communication phase' (7), you should prepare a brief presentation to the rest of class.
This should include all of the ideas you have considered, which you have selected, and how you
made the selection.

During the 'Learn from Experience' phase (8), spend ten or fifteen minutes after the presentation
making notes individually on what you have learned from the experience, then compare them with
the rest of your group.

Use the TASC working sheet below, and make sure you keep notes on each stage.

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TASC Working Sheet
Phase One: Gather Information Notes and Observations

Phase Two:

Phase Three:

Phase Four:

Phase Five:

Phase Six:

Phase Seven: Communicate

Phase Eight: Learn From Experience

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Exercise 2: Using the Six Hats Method

Work in a small group of between 2 and 5 people as directed by your lecturer. Apply the Six
Hats method to the following problem.

You work for an IT support team which has built a database system for an international college. The
college has three campuses in different countries, though all of the staff speak the same first
language. The three campuses are several hundred miles apart, and the smallest is in a remote
area that is hard to travel to.

The database system is accessed through a web interface, and staff can log into it from any
internet-connected computer.

You need to train all of the student support staff (8 people at each campus) in using this system.
You also need to train the senior management (5 people based on the largest campus) in using the
system.

Consider solutions for how to carry out this training, and select one of them.

Think about:

• What do people need to get out of the training?

• Practicalities – travel vs. technology
• Whether one training solution is good enough for all the people who you need to train.

Also consider the best way to apply the Six Hats method to this problem. Remember, if you are
using the hats ‘in parallel’ then someone needs to be appointed as chair or facilitator (‘wearing the
blue hat’).

Use the Six Hats working sheet below, and make sure you keep notes throughout.

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 Six Hats Working Sheet
White Hat Red Hat

Black Hat Yellow Hat

Blue Hat Green Hat

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 Topic 7

Topic 7: Assignment Preparation

7.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an overview of assignment preparation. On completion of the topic, you will be
able to:

• Prepare for the assignment component of the Skills for Computing module assessment;
• Develop skills to complete future coursework assignments;
• Develop skills in writing for an audience and proofreading;
• Understand the benefits of lifelong learning.

7.2 Timings
Seminars: 3 hours

Private Study: 6 hours

Tutorials: 2 hours

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7.3 Seminar Notes
The seminars for this topic will last for 3 hours.

Activity 1: Organising your time

Strategies for planning your time were discussed in Topic 1, and it is essential to plan your
assignment time carefully.

In Topic 5, we discussed using milestones in the solving of complex problems. We can use the
same approach here.

First, break down the tasks within your assignment. Work out what proportion, as a percentage, will
need to be spent on each task. As a rule of thumb, this should usually reflect the proportion of marks
available. Next, decide how long in hours you will be able to spend on each task and when you will
be able to put those hours in. You should now be able to give a date on which each task will be
complete. Where possible, add a day or two for the unforeseen. The date for the completion of each
task is a milestone. Write out your list of milestones, and keep it in a prominent position while you
work on your assignment – don’t put it in a drawer and forget about it.

During the later part of this seminar and in your private study time this week, you will be working on
the sample assignment as practice. Looking at the sample assignment, work out how long you will
have to spend on each task, and determine your milestones. Discuss this with others in your class
and with your tutor if you wish.

Activity 2: Knowing your audience

An important aspect which is easily overlooked in an assignment is who you are writing for.
Sometimes, you are writing a ‘purely academic’ report. However, assignments may ask you to write
a specific type of report, for example, a technical specification or a report for management in a
business case study.

In your groups, discuss how you might adapt your writing for an audience. What audience should
you pitch to in the sample assignment? Particularly consider how, as an IT professional, you will
have to communicate technical information to different audiences, and what problems you may face
in doing this.

Activity 3: Assignment Walkthrough

Look at your sample assignment for this module. This is the format that your real assignment will
take when it is issued.

To begin with, the assignment states a problem. The sample problem is as follows:

You are the manager of an IT department of ten people. You work for a company which has
a great benefits package, and therefore excellent staff retention; however, this means that all
of your team have been working there for at least four years, and some as long as ten,
therefore increasingly their technical skills are not up-to-date and they struggle with the latest
technologies.

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 Your senior management team has allocated a budget of US$12,000 to address this
problem, and they want you to produce a report detailing how you will spend this money to
get the best results.

When working on your sample assignment it is important to take version control into consideration.
Version control is a means of managing multiple versions of the same document, it is especially
useful when a clear record of how a document was developed or modified over time is required.
Each time the document is revised a unique identifier is applied such as a version number. This
enables a user to identify the latest version of the document and differentiate between drafts and a
final version.

During this part of the seminar, you should work through the assignment tasks 1-3 in small groups.
Use version control when creating or modifying documents for example when a document is created
it can be peer assessed then if any modifications are required the document will change from V1.0
to V1.1 e.g. “document_name_v1.1”. When the final draft has been agreed upon then the version
can be stamped as FINAL e.g. “document_name_FINAL”.

Don’t necessarily spend as much time on each task as you would for the real assignment; instead,
discuss how you will go about each task, what to focus on, and work together to generate ideas.

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7.4 Private Study
You should spend approximately 6 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1: Proof Reading

Proof-reading your work carefully before submission is vitally important for picking up the maximum
number of marks, and for presenting a professional image to whoever marks your work.

In the passage below, there are ten spelling errors which would not be identified by a spell-checker
in Microsoft Word or similar word-processing applications. There are also two deliberate misuses of
apostrophes. Identify them all.

Finlandia Communications Incorporated (FINCOM) specialises in managing information systems

development projects four a wide range of international customers. FINCOM seas itself increasingly
in the role of prime contractor, bidding for the management of large projects which will subcontract
specialist work to smaller companies, and its longer-term business plan reflects this view. Its senior
management is fully aware of the roll that innovative software plays in maintaining a competitive
hedge, and also recognises the increasing importance of using effective information systems in its
own business operations.

The First National Bank of Greenland has bean a good customer of FINCOM for several years and
has long-established contacts at all levels, including the highest levels of management. Greenland’s
business is considered as strategist by FINCOMs board, and the growth of this business is expected
to be based on an increasingly emphasis on ‘partnership’-type approaches to projects.

A knew Commercial Enterprises division has recently been formed by Greenland; its general
manager (who is also responsible for marketing) has been looking at the supply market fro the
provision of an Internet-based home banking system product which he feels would offer Greenland a
significant commercial advantage in the marketplace. This product would include standard account
handling transactions plus financial adversary services and marketing information.

Exercise 2: Research Task

Using the internet and print sources, produce a definition of the following two terms:

• Continuing Professional Development

• Lifelong Learning

Make sure that you include a list of all the references you have used at the end of each.

Exercise 3: Assignment Practice

Make notes for how you would complete assignment task 4. Include all of the work your group did
during the seminar, and your own reflections on this. You will also need to prepare a brief
presentation for your tutorial class on how you would go about answering it.

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7.5 Tutorial Notes
The tutorials for this topic will last for 2 hours. You can expect to spend some of this time discussing
your answers to the Private Study exercises with your lecturer and other students. Your lecturer will
also direct you on completing the tasks below.

Exercise 1: Practice Assignment Presentation

You will now give the brief presentation you prepared in Private Study Exercise 3 to the rest of the
class.

You should then reflect on this experience before engaging with the assignment for this module.

Exercise 2: Lifelong Learning

The sample problem raises the important question of continuing to learn and update your skills as
an IT professional. We refer to this as Continuing Professional Development or Lifelong Learning.

In groups, discuss the definitions of Continuing Professional Development or Lifelong Learning. Try
to reach a consensus definition of each within your group, utilising elements of the definitions
prepared by all members.

In addition, discuss these ideas within your group, and list some points which you think makes them
important.

Exercise 3: Review of Proof Reading Task

Share your results from the proof reading task in Private Study Exercise 1 with the other students in
your group. Have you identified the same errors?

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 Topic 8

Topic 8: Data Acquisition

8.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an overview of data acquisition. On completion of the topic, you will be able to:

• Describe different ways of obtaining data and their significance for data analysis;
• Identify different types of data and how they determine the way data is analysed;
• Understand data storage and representation requirements.

8.2 Timings
Lectures: 1 hour

Seminars: 3 hours

Private Study: 6 hours

Tutorials: 1 hour

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8.3 Seminar Notes
The seminars for this topic will last for 2 hours.

Activity 1:

Sometimes we can't directly measure the quantity we are interested in. However, we can try to
deduce some information about that quantity from the data that we do have access to. For example,
it is good to have a balance between social life and studying, but it is difficult to measure social life.

Working in groups of 3 or 4, observe the other people in your group.

a. Make a short list of questions that would help you to use your observations to deduce how
sociable they are. For example, do they know your name? Do you think that they spend a long
time on their clothes and personal appearance? Were any of them chatting before starting the
seminar?

b. What type of data have you obtained from your observations? Can you be sure that the
information you deduced is accurate?

c. Are you yourself a primary or a a secondary source of information on the social life of the other
members of your group? Why? Discuss the accuracy of your deductions with the others in your
group.

Activity 2:

Working together in groups of 3 or 4:

a. If you would like to find out how much studying other students do, what would you use to obtain
that information?

b. When designing a survey, how should the questions be structured? Why?

c. Working as a group, design a survey of about 3 questions to obtain data on how much other
students study. When you have all finished, exchange your survey with other groups. Which
differences do you see in the other surveys? How will this affect the data?

Activity 3:

A new mobile phone operator would like to obtain information on the retail prices of currently
available models of mobile telephones (or cell phones, or mobiles.) They obtain nearly 200 values
for the prices of mobile phones, satellite phones, pagers and landline telephones.

a. Give examples of information we could extract from this data.

b. This data is obtained from a number of different countries. The mobile phone operator requires
relevant information. Which two procedures would form the initial part of our data processing?

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Activity 4:

A trouser manufacturer would like to make its business more efficient, using information on the
proportions of people who require short, medium and long trousers. The manufacturer sends many
of its trousers to two clothing shops in the same city, and asks the manager of each shop to make a
note of whether each of their customers is short, medium, or tall.

a. Which type of data do the manufacturers obtain? What is a common difficulty associated with
this type of data?

b. The relative proportions of short, medium and tall customers reported by one shop manager are
significantly different from those reported by the other. What could the reasons be?

c. What is an important advantage of a scientific measurement? Suggest two practical ways in

which the shop managers could improve the usefulness of the data they provide to the
manufacturers?

Activity 5:

Working in small groups, you will design a questionnaire which evaluates this course, from the
students' point of view.

a. Before the seminar, you spent some time researching aspects of survey design, using the
Internet and library resources. In particular, you should be familiar with the idea of the Likert
scale. Now read the guidelines given below for designing an effective survey, or questionnaire,
or opinion poll.

• You must determine the context and objective of the survey: what advantage do you expect
to gain from it? For this questionnaire, the context is given above, and the objectives will be
relevant to the educational effectiveness of the course.

• The results from the survey must be useful. This means that all questions must have
actionable responses: the answers which are given will affect decision-making and future
procedures. In the context of this questionnaire, the possible answers must help to identify
specific areas of improvement of the course, and concrete and specific ways to improve the
educational effectiveness of the course.

• You may wish to include a brief introduction on the context of the survey, so that the
respondents understand the relevance of the questions.

• You must bear in mind that the usefulness of the survey is limited by how representative your
respondents are, and how relevant the survey is to them. In the present context, students
who have only just started the course will not be able to evaluate it as well as students who
have already completed it.

• The questions must be brief, simple, and clear. They must be unambiguous: they can only
be interpreted in one way.

• When choosing questions, you may find it helpful to work backwards from your objectives:
decide in what ways you would like the survey to make a difference, then what information
would help to determine those ways, and lastly which questions would lead to the required
information.

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 • The questions should be as specific as possible. For example, not “Is the homework too
difficult?” but rather “Which homework exercises (if any) were too difficult?” You may find it
helpful to start with a simple statement (for example, “the homework is difficult”) and then
convert it to a question.

• Sometimes asking similar questions in different ways will help you to analyse the response,
especially for vague responses. For example: “Rate the average difficulty of the homework
exercises on a scale of 1 to 5” combined with “What percentage of the homework did you
find easy?”

• To make it easier to analyse the responses, and to obtain clear responses, it is best to use
closed-ended questions. For an open-ended question, the respondent provides the entire
answer. Closed-ended questions provide the respondent with a choice between existing
responses. These could be a simple choice between alternatives, or they could require
choosing a position on a Likert scale, for example 1 to 5, or very good, good, ok, bad, very
bad.

• The possible responses must not overlap or leave any gaps. It must not be possible to
choose more than one response, or to choose a response which is not listed. If absolutely
necessary, you can include “None of the above”, or “Other”, as a possible response.

b. In your groups, create a questionnaire evaluating students' experience of this course. Do not use
any of the specific example questions given above. On a separate sheet, for each portion of the
questionnaire, explain and justify your design decisions, referring to the guidelines.

c. When you have finished, exchange questionnaires and design documents with other groups.
See if you can find ways in which their design decisions are better or worse than yours, for
similar questions.

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8.4 Private Study
You should spend approximately 6 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1: Seminar Preparation

Before the seminar for this topic, spend some time researching aspects of survey design, using the
internet and library resources. In particular, make sure that you are familiar with the idea of the Likert
scale1.

Exercise 2:

Find out the birthday of a friend, from a primary source, and a secondary source, explaining why
each source is of the given type. Give an example of something you have learnt from a primary
source, and from a secondary source.

Exercise 3:

While you are studying, every now and then have a look at the minute hand of a clock. Are these
values discrete or continuous? Why?

Exercise 4:

Estimate your height in metres as you are now, as you were one year ago, and when you were five
years old. Using your height at the age of five as a baseline, what can you say about your height
one year ago and today? Using your height today as a baseline, what can you say about your height
one year ago, and when you were five? Give an example of a data comparison with respect to a
baseline, for example in the financial report of a company.

Exercise 5:

The planning committee for a city is studying the future development of the city centre. They
commission a study of the heights of buildings in the centre from a surveying company. This
company sends out employees over a period of time with modern equipment which photographs the
buildings and processes the images to produce height estimates. These estimates are in feet, and
the corresponding data is saved by default in the software package's own proprietary storage
format.

a. When each surveyor returns to the surveying company with the data on their laptop, what is the
first thing that they must do?

b. How should the data be processed before being analysed?

1 Originally published in: Likert, R. (1932). A Technique for the Measurement of Attitudes, In Archives of
Psychology, No.140. A wide range of internet sources are available on this subject.

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c. The data may be used over a number of years, by old and new employees. In order to help
interpret the data, other information (apart from the heights of the buildings) may be relevant.
Each surveyor should insert a header in the file for each dataset that they have collected. Which
descriptions of the dataset would be useful in the header?

Exercise 6:

Based on information that you have access to on a computer, the internet, or any other source,
make a list of formats used to store digital images. Remember that file formats used for images are
generally different to formats used for video. If you use Microsoft Windows, right-click on a picture
file on your hard disk or an image on the Web, and then select 'Properties', to view the file format,
including the extension. (The file extension is usually a three-letter abbreviation, and comes after the
file name.)

You could explore the appearance of various formats by displaying an image in one format, using
available software, and then save it in another format and view it again. Alternatively, some
information on image formats is available on the internet. Which formats are compressed? Which
can you use to convert a file without changing the picture?

Exercise 7: Data Collection

Take the student feedback survey which your group put together during the seminar. Reflecting on
the discussions and comparisons which followed, develop your own survey based on this.

Now ask your classmates to fill it in and return it to you. You will need this data in Topic 10, so make
sure to ask for the surveys back in time.

Exercise 8: Protecting Data GDPR

The aim of General Data Protection Regulation is to ensure a consistent level of protection for
personal data in the European Union, explain at least THREE (3) changes that an organisation can
face due to its implementation.

Exercise 9: Policies and Procedures

In exercise 8 you looked at GDPR. This is a policy that a company must enforce regarding private
information. Depending on the size of an organisation, they will need to comply with different legal
requirements. Research at least FIVE (5) other company policies required by law in the UK or you
home country (if they are available).

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8.5 Tutorial Notes
The tutorials for this topic will last for 1 hour. You can expect to spend some of this time discussing
your answers to the Private Study exercises with your lecturer and other students. Your lecturer will
also direct you on completing the tasks below.

Exercise 1:

Although we have been able to store written information for thousands of years, it is only in the last
century that we have been able to store audio information (music).

Some of the storage media that have been used are: moving needles leaving scratches on wax,
more accurate movements of needles following a path on a vinyl record (a type of plastic which
could easily be scratched), magnetisation on tape (cassettes), which could be stretched, optical
discs including CDs, and solid-state memory used for example in MP3 players.

Discuss the effect on the data of these storage media.

Exercise 2:

Along with modern electronic storage media, we now also have a large number of audio formats.
Many devices will recognise the WAV format, which is uncompressed, the MP3 format, which is
compressed, and other formats depending on the associated device or software, for example mobile
phone ringtones which are highly compressed. How does this affect the way we use these formats?
Are conversions possible between different audio formats? Is all the information still there after
conversion? Why?

Exercise 3:

A food processing factory acquires new software-controlled equipment to monitor the food
production. This depends on many factors, including the current values of the temperature and
humidity within the factory.

a. For each individual food product made by the machinery, the new equipment stores data
including the type of product, whether its weight and other characteristics are within an
appropriate range, and various other data which is usually the same for each type of product.
The factory produces a very large quantity of food, and their current data storage is inadequate.
What can they do about this?

b. The factory managers would like some idea of the quantity of ingredients to order every week,
as the quantity of food produced varies according to the factors calculated by the monitoring
equipment. They will know this after they have used the new equipment for some months, but
how can they determine this in advance?

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 Topic 9

Topic 9: Charts and Estimates

9.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an overview of basic statistical data analysis. On completion of the topic, you will
be able to:

• Use appropriate charts to represent data;

• Understand how data is described statistically;
• Use statistical estimation to describe data.

9.2 Timings
Lectures: 1 hour

Seminars: 1 hour

Laboratory Sessions: 1 hour

Private Study: 6 hours

Tutorials: 2 hours

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9.3 Seminar Notes
The seminar for this topic will last for 1 hour.

Activity 1:

The normal distribution is the most commonly occurring distribution, but many other distributions
also occur in practice. The standard uniform (or rectangular) distribution is 0 for values smaller than
zero and larger than one, and it is 1 for values between zero and one. You should sketch the
distribution, as a visual aid to your reasoning. Using logical reasoning and discussion with your
fellow students, consider the following questions:

a. Expressing probabilities as either a number or a percentage, what is the probability of obtaining

a value of 2.25 from the standard uniform distribution?

b. What is the probability of obtaining a value between zero and one?

c. What is the probability of obtaining a value between zero and one half?

d. What does this tell us about the location of the median?

e. Which are more likely, the values of about 0.5 or values of about 0.001? Why?

f. What range of values, centred at the mean, occurs 70% of the time?

g. If we calculate the mean of ten values drawn from the standard uniform distribution, and then
repeat this procedure many times, can we expect the distribution of values that we obtain for the
mean to follow a uniform distribution?

Activity 2:

We often need to estimate the value of a quantity which is unchanging, but sometimes our
measurements will show a progressive change. The simplest behaviour is that instead of remaining
constant, it changes at a constant rate. Determining the corresponding straight line is called linear
regression. We can use this to describe the behaviour of the changing measurements. A similar
process can be used for more complex shapes. Curve-fitting is the process of finding the
parameters describing some known functional form, not necessarily a straight line, so that the
resulting curve is in some sense “close” to the data – we fit the data to the curve.

If we have a range of n values, X1, X2, …. Xn , then one way we can fit the data is to minimise the
average of the squares of the distances between the values and the curve (for example, the
corresponding point on a straight line for linear regression).

a. If the quantity we are interested in follows a straight line, and includes some random error, then
can we expect to get an exact straight line from our measurements?

b. By squaring the difference, we are ensuring that certain values will have a strong effect on our
fit. Which values will have the strongest effect?

c. If we obtain more experimental values, what will be the effect on our estimate of the underlying
curve? Why?

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9.4 Laboratory Sessions
The laboratory time allocation for this topic is 1 hour.

Activity 1:

Open the provided worksheet, 'StudentdataSFCtopic9'.

The first column of values represents the relative frequencies of a set of measurements. Select the
column, then click on the chart icon and choose an appropriate chart in which to plot these values.
What does this curve represent?

Activity 2:

The values in the second column represent the results of a measurement of an angle in radians.
How might you estimate the typical value of the measured quantity? Click on an adjacent empty cell,
then click on the function icon to apply a function to these values. Use the online help if you are not
sure what your function is called. Possible functions include the median and the average or mean.

Activity 3:

Recently installed equipment at a national border measures the weight (in kg) of each vehicle (car,
motorcycle, bus) that passes over it. This equipment warms up slowly in the morning, and may
produce defective data, but it then works normally. Columns D, E and F of the worksheet show data
from 3 mornings.

a. Copy the values from columns D, E and F into column G in order to combine all the valid data in
one column.

b. Use the spreadsheet to calculate the mean weight per vehicle.

c. To find out which type of vehicle usually passes over this weighing equipment, use the
spreadsheet to find the median weight. Which of the three types of vehicle typically passes over
the equipment?

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9.5 Private Study
You should spend approximately 6 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1:

The following table lists the ingredients of a cake, by weight. Choose an appropriate chart to
represent the relative proportions of each ingredient, and sketch it.

Flour : 1 kg

Sugar : 0.5 kg

Eggs : 0.1 kg

Exercise 2:

What does a histogram describe? Sketch a histogram with 4 bins, which represents the number of
hours you sleep each night. What is the most common range of values for the time that you sleep?
How is this shown on the histogram?

Exercise 3:

Take the data which you gathered from others in your class when you designed a questionnaire as
part of the previous topic. Present it using a range of appropriate charts.

Exercise 4:

The two histograms below show the same 1000 data values.

250 450
400
200
350
300
150
250

100 200
150
50 100
50
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The one on the left uses 15 bins, the one on the right has 8 bins. Which distribution could these
histograms be approximating?

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Why do the histograms not look exactly like this distribution?

Compare the two histograms: what are the main differences between them?

What would we need to do in order to obtain plots which look more like the underlying distribution?

Exercise 5:

A large clock over the town hall in a northern English town strikes every hour. It is known to be a
very accurate clock. A retired scientist lives nearby. She decides to use her very accurate equipment
to measure the exact time that the clock strikes, during the daytime. Subtracting her results from the
exact time obtained by synchronisation with an accurate source, she obtains a series of time
differences, in milliseconds, for the measurements she makes over three days. These are shown
below:

Day 1: 1, -2, 0, 2, 2, 0, 1, 2, -3, 0, 1, -1

Day 2: -2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 1, 0, -1, 1, 1, -2, 0

Day 3: 1, -1, 0, -3, 2, -2, -1, 0, -3, 2, 1, 0

What are the three values corresponding to the mean time difference per day, for each day?

The results show the component of the original measurement which includes only the various
random errors. What do we call this component?

What is the overall mean time difference, averaged over three days? (You can calculate this from
the data for all three days. However, you already have the means for non-overlapping portions of the
data which include all the values, so there is a more efficient way of calculating the overall mean.)

We would expect the variation away from the exact time to be small, otherwise the changes would
accumulate and the clock would no longer be accurate. Compare the one day means and the overall
mean. Is the variation away from zero smaller or larger for the overall mean? Why?

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9.6 Tutorial Notes
The tutorials for this topic will last for 2 hours. You can expect to spend some of this time discussing
your answers to the Private Study exercises with your lecturer and other students. Your lecturer will
then direct you on completing the tasks below.

Exercise 1:

Image processing is used to enhance (improve) images, for example by removing noise. One
common technique is called “de-speckling”. This removes random spots (speckles) which have been
superimposed on the original image.

On a computer, an image is represented by dots, called pixels, with various levels of brightness from
black to white. (We assume the image is in shades of grey, not colour). By looking at how often we
obtain various levels of brightness in adjacent pixels, we can build a histogram of brightness levels
for nearby pixels. This is generally not similar to a normal distribution.

We can eliminate noise (de-speckle) by replacing each pixel with the central value from the
histogram of nearby pixels.

a. Which estimator will we use to obtain the central value? Why?

b. The following table lists the relative frequencies of the brightness levels. Sketch the
corresponding histogram.

Brightness (0=Black) Relative frequency

0-19: 22

20-39: 14

40-59: 4

60-79: 1

80-99: 7

c. The noise in the image is caused by bright spots scattered at random through the image. How is
this indicated in the histogram?

d. Calculate the appropriate brightness value for the “de-speckled” pixel, paying attention to how
many values there are in total (hint: there are not 5 values, this is the number of bins in the
histogram).

e. If we replace the brightness level of each pixel with the mean brightness of nearby pixels, this
will not eliminate the speckle, it will just blur the whole image, including the noise. Try to explain
this by considering the effect of averaging on the histogram you sketched. Discuss this with
others in the tutorial.

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Exercise 2:

For a normal distribution, the mean and median are both at the central peak of the distribution. This
is also the mode. (The mode is the value that occurs most frequently: the value which is associated
with the maximum height in a distribution, and the highest bar in a histogram.) Many other
distributions also occur in practice, with very different shapes.

a. On a long car journey, the children in the back of the car are asked how many red cars they can
see. The number of red cars they see in five minute period over an hour is shown below:

14, 11, 12, 16, 14, 15, 12, 16, 13, 15, 12, 16.

Sketch a histogram showing these results.

b. The bars in the histogram correspond to the relative frequencies of cars spotted in successive 5
minute intervals, over an hour. How would the bars change if we had a lot more data, for
example from more car journeys?

c. If we have a lot more data, and make the binning time intervals narrower, the resulting
histogram will approximate a distribution. Sketch the distribution of the number of red cars
visible at any moment over a time period of -10 to +70 minutes. This is called a uniform
distribution.

d. The trains in Britain are not famous for being punctual, but they never leave before their
departure time. They usually leave close to their departure time, or a bit later. They are less
likely to leave later still (10 or 15 minutes late) and even less likely to be very late (20 or 30
minutes late.) They are seldom over 40 or 50 minutes late. Sketch the distribution of the number
of minutes delay before departure, over a range of -10 to +60 minutes. This is called an
exponential distribution.

e. Some people are naturally left-handed, but in some cases are trained to use their right hands
for common tasks, like writing. If we pass a biscuit to someone, they are more likely to accept it
with their left hand if they are left-handed, but sometimes will use the other hand. There are
many times more right-handed people than left-handed people.

A study in many schools used the biscuit-passing method in each class of each school to find
out if people were right-handed or left-handed. A biscuit was passed on different occasions to
each child, 10 times in total per child. The qualitative data was converted to quantitative data by
adding 0.1 to the total for each child when they accepted it with the right hand, and subtracting
0.1 each time they accepted it with the left hand. Repeating the experiment for many children in
many classes in many schools resulted in a complicated distribution of values. The minimum
possible average value per child is -1 (always accepting it with the left hand) and the maximum
possible value is +1 (always accepting it with the right hand.) Sketch the approximate
distribution over the range -1.1 to +1.1 of the data distribution for all children in the study.

f. For the above three distributions, indicate roughly where the mean, median and mode will lie.

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 Topic 10

Topic 10: Accuracy and Correlation; Presenting Results

10.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an overview of handling errors and correlated variables. On completion of the
topic, you will be able to:

• Understand the role of errors in data analysis

• Explore relationships between correlated variables
• Understand how to interpret correlation
• Apply critical thinking to presenting and interpreting statistical analyses
• Obtain appropriate statistical descriptions using a spreadsheet

10.2 Timings
Lectures: 2 hours

Seminars: 1 hour

Laboratory: 2 hours

Private Study: 6 hours

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10.3 Seminar Notes
The seminars for this topic will last for 2 hours.

Activity 1:

Working in groups of three or four, discuss each of the following questions.

A scientist measures the height of 19 people, in centimetres. The same measurements are repeated
by her assistant, and subtracted from the first set of measurements. The resulting values are shown
in the table below.

Difference in measurement of height in cm:

-0.05
0.61
0.40
0.42
0.20
0.59
0.10
-0.15
-0.34
0.29
-0.16
0.03
0.59
-0.46
-0.27
-0.52
-0.38
0.08
-0.23
-0.50

a. What values would you expect to see if all the measurements were perfectly accurate?

b. What value would you expect the estimated mean of these measurements to be close to? (Do
not calculate the mean.)

c. The standard error in these values is 0.37 cm. The mean is -0.05 cm. How would you write the
mean value including the standard error? How many values are not within a standard error of
the mean? Is this reasonable or does it indicate a problem in the experiment or the
measurement? Do you think this is caused by user error, systematic error, or random error?
Discuss whether our estimate of the mean would be more accurate if these values are not
included in the calculation.

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Activity 2:

A mountaineering club obtained data on the heights of a large number of mountain climbers, and the
heights of the mountains they climbed. This is shown in a scatter plot:

4500

4000
Mountain Height (metres) 3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
1.55 1.6 1.65 1.7 1.75 1.8 1.85 1.9
Climber Height (metres)

a. Does the plot show a correlation between the datasets?

b. What does this tell us about the relationship between the height of mountain climbers and the
height of the mountains they climb?

c. Based on the data, what height of mountains is climbed by a tall mountain climber?

d. Looking at the plot, we see combined data for both datasets. If we are interested only in the
distribution of height for mountain climbers, what is the approximate shape for this distribution
based on the plot?

e. How would the scatter plot be different if taller mountain climbers preferred low mountains and
shorter mountain climbers preferred high mountains?

f. The data used for the plot contains a thousand data pairs. If we had only four data pairs in total,
would we still be able to determine the correlation (or absence of correlation) and analyse the
relationship?

Activity 3:

Studies have shown that people buy more ice cream in the summer than in the winter. Also, other
studies have shown that more people are admitted to hospital suffering from dehydration (too little
water in the body) in the summer than in the winter.

a. Does this suggest that the values (money spent on ice cream and dehydration cases) are likely
to be correlated?

b. Can we conclude that eating ice cream causes dehydration? Why?

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Activity 4:

A farmer reads about a new type of chicken feed which makes hens lay more eggs. A study
performed by an independent research group claimed that the number of eggs laid per hen with this
new feed over a given time period was on average 10.03, with a standard error of 0.15 eggs. This
was a significant increase over the 7.06 eggs per hen for the same time period with standard
chicken feed, shown by a previous study performed elsewhere.

a. What is missing from this result?

b. The farmer decides to perform his own experiment. On average, over a given time period, his
hens lay 9.93 eggs, with a standard deviation of 0.98 eggs, with the standard feed. With the
new feed, his hens lay 10.91 eggs, with a standard error of 0.83 eggs, over the same time
period. He is impressed by this increase of about 10%. What is he neglecting?

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10.4 Private Study
You should spend approximately 6 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1:

The following table of values represents the average daily time spent on homework, in hours, and
the percentage obtained in the examination, for each student in a group of 10 students.

Homework time Exam mark

3 70

9 93

1 52

2 37

4 87

2 44

8 91

5 75

a. How could we explore the relationship between these quantities? Sketch the appropriate plot.

b. Is there a correlation? Describe one possible conclusion that does not contradict the behaviour
in the plot, given that the examinations occur after the homework.

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Exercise 2:

The following two tables represent a series of measurements by two different people with the
unusual names of A and B. They are measuring a normally distributed dimensionless (no units)
quantity with a mean of zero and a standard error of 1. These are very difficult measurements so
unfortunately one of the two people has cheated, making up results without doing the
measurements. Which of the two has cheated? How do we know this? (Hint: we know that the
values are from a normal distribution, so we know what proportion of values will be relatively close to
the mean.)

A B
1.08 -0.05
2.58 0.89
1.17 0.67
0.82 0.48
0.69 -1.4
1.12 0.82
2.18 -0.03
0.48 -0.95
-0.99 0.9
0.49 -0.03
-1.55 0.57
1.85 -0.29
0.02 0.82
2.39 0.78
-0.31 -0.55
0.84 0.27
-0.79 0.36
-0.09 0.86
-0.23 0.4
0.78 -0.21

Exercise 3:

Using a newspaper, the internet, or any other source, make a list of exchange rates from your
currency to other currencies. (Try to obtain values for at least ten currencies). Find out the
approximate population size for each of the regions represented by these currencies.

a. Present the combined results by sketching a scatter plot. Is the data correlated or uncorrelated?
How did you reach this conclusion? Based on your plot, is it possible to make an estimate of the
exchange rate for a country with a small population? Why?

b. Based on your plot, if the population of one of the regions represented in your plot doubles over
the next ten years, what would be your best estimate for the exchange rate at that time?

c. How could you make your conclusions less vague and more certain?

Exercise 4:

A factory producing paint makes continuous measurements of the mixture, so that it does not
contain too much or too little water. The water content is measured by seeing how quickly the paint
goes through a narrow pipe. It goes more slowly when it contains less water, because it is thicker.

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a. In order to evaluate the results from the measurements, what else is required?

b. The results show that the mean water content is 300.1 grams per litre, and the ideal water
content is in the range 290 to 310 grams per litre. Does this mean that the paint mixture
contains the correct amount of water? How could it be possible for the water content to be
outside the ideal range?

c. Some customers have complained that they have received paint that was too thin and watery.
The quality control manager spoke to the engineer who said that was not possible, because she
measures the water content every day, as soon as she arrives at work, and the amount of water
used in total during the day shows that those values are typical. How could she be wrong?
(Hint: in order to avoid biased estimates, we should not limit any factors in our measurements,
unless we are only interested in the behaviour in those limited conditions).

Exercise 5:

A farmer would like to take out a bank loan to improve his farm. He calculates that he needs at least
122 lambs each year to provide the income he needs in order to make the interest payments on the
loan. He has records of the number of lambs born every year in April, and of the total number born
each year. From this he calculates the number born in March. For certain years he finds that he had
a negative number of lambs born in March, which he excludes from the data.

a. Is it appropriate for him to exclude the negative numbers of births from the data? Why?

b. He finds that on average 72 lambs are born in March, and 51 in April. He decides to take out the
bank loan. Is this a wise decision? What is missing from his description of the data?

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10.5 Laboratory Session
The time allocation for the Laboratory Sessions for this topic is 2 hours.

Activity 1:

a. Open a new sheet using your spreadsheet software. Look around you at the other students in
the room. In the first column of your spreadsheet, in each cell enter your best guess, in metres,
of the distance between you and each of the other students in the class, starting with the closest
ones and continuing with increasingly further ones. (If there are more than 20 students then only
do this for the nearest 20). Make a guess of the uncertainty (error) in these estimated distances.

b. Use the spreadsheet to calculate the mean (average) distance from you to the other students.

c. Use the spreadsheet to calculate the standard error (also known as standard deviation,
sometimes abbreviated sdev or stdev) in the distances between you and the other students. If
you are unsure what the function is called in the spreadsheet, use the online help and
remember that it might be referred to as standard deviation. You will notice that the standard
error in the distances between you and the other students is larger than the error in your
estimate of each distance, which you estimated earlier. Think about why this is so.

d. Separate the distances into four ranges (for example 0 to 1 metre, 1 to 2 metres, 2 to 3 metres,
more than 3 metres.) In the second column of the spreadsheet, in the top four cells, enter the
number of values which fall into each of these four ranges. Make a chart to show this histogram.

e. What does this histogram tell you about the distances of other students from you? If one of the
students suddenly decides to stand up, then according to your histogram will that student be
close to you or distant?

f. In the third column of the spreadsheet enter a series of increasing values, starting with the top
cell, which represent the number of seconds since you started on that column. Continue until
you have as many values as the first column, using the second hand on your watch, or on the
computer, or else just by guessing. You don't have to enter these values regularly, you can
pause between values, so that they will be increasing in random steps. Make a scatter plot
pairing the values from the first and the third columns. Do the values appear to be correlated?
Why? Is there any real connection between them?

Activity 2:

a. A remote island has all of its goods delivered from the mainland by boat. A typical delivery
consists of fresh water (68%), food (24%) and other goods (8%). Show this with an appropriate
chart.

b. The time at which the boat arrives is affected by many factors, including the weather, whether
the boat has engine trouble, and how much time it takes to load the deliveries. Describe the
approximate shape that you would expect for the arrival times.

c. The islanders strongly disagree about how many boats make deliveries. Most of them think that
there is only one boat, which arrives at unpredictable times of the day or night. However, some
of them think that sometimes a second or even a third boat makes deliveries. The data below
shows the boat arrival times over 36 days. In a new column of the spreadsheet, based on all the
data, in the first cell enter the total number of arrivals between 0:00 and 0:59, and so on until the

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 24th cell for arrivals between 23:00 and 23:59. Use a (column) bar chart to represent your
results. What is this type of bar chart called?

14:30 16:19 06:23 20:51 07:36 15:42 05:47 15:18 04:24

17:23 15:56 16:14 06:05 12:33 16:47 16:43 13:48 06:03
05:52 14:34 03:06 14:08 17:16 19:25 15:38 18:37 14:56
04:03 19:11 17:44 15:46 05:49 16:13 08:12 13:23 18:57

d. Based on the chart, how many boats appear to sometimes make deliveries?

Activity 3:

Load the worksheet ’StudentdataSFCtopic11’ into your spreadsheet.

A medical research institute has collected data in a wide region on the number of incidences per
month of thyroid cancer, spread over nearly 17 years. The first column in your spreadsheet shows
this data.

a. Plot the values using a smoothed curve, with no points, by using the graphing options. Is there a
trend in the values? (A “trend” refers to all of the values, not the small-scale changes between
successive values. It is behaviour over a large scale, for example: staying the same, or
decreasing. Sometimes there appears to be a trend in data which is in fact only a coincidence.
The random errors in the values seem to follow a trend but new data does not confirm this
trend.)

b. In the second column of the spreadsheet, use the first cell to calculate the standard error in the
data. In the next four cells of this column, calculate the standard error in each quarter of the
data (the standard error of values 1 to 50, 51 to 100, 101 to 150, and 151 to 200.) Are the
values for each quarter of the data very roughly the same? Do they correspond to the standard
error of the dataset as a whole? What does this tell us about the possible trend?

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 Topic 11

Topic 11: Regression Analysis

11.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an overview of the presentation of statistical results. On completion of the topic,
you will be able to:

• Understand a straight line fit to bivariate data

• Calculate and interpret Pearson’s correlation coefficient
• Calculate and interpret Spearman’s correlation coefficient

11.2 Timings
Lectures: 2 hours

Tutorials: 3 hours

Private Study: 6 hours

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11.3 Private Study
The time allocation for private study in this topic is expected to be 6 hours.

Exercise 1:

Review the lecture material for this topic and discuss any confusion you have with other students.
List the points for which you remain uncertain and raise these in the tutorial. [You must still attempt
the other exercises below and take your answers to the tutorials.]

Exercise 2:

Investigate the Excel function ‘TREND’.

Investigate the Excel options for adding trend lines to scatter graphs. (First produce a scatter graph).
Excel 2010: Single click on scatter graph. Drop down menu from Chart tools / Layout / Trendline.
Excel 2003: Single click on scatter graph. Chart / Add Trendline.)

Exercise 3:

Study the following pages at http://stattrek.com

http://stattrek.com/AP-Statistics-1/Correlation.aspx (accessed 9th April 2011)

http://stattrek.com/AP-Statistics-1/Regression.aspx (accessed 9th April 2011)

Exercise 4:

A hand car wash service has been monitoring its daily demand as it has changed price. Calculate
the simple linear regression line and the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Price per Wash Number Cars

£5.00 105
£5.50 113
£6.00 99
£6.50 94
£7.00 87

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11.4 Tutorial Notes
The time allowance for tutorials in this topic is 2 hours.

11.4.1 Tutorial Exercises

Exercise 1: Review of Private Study Exercises

Note: It is recommended in this topic to review private study exercises before proceeding, to ensure
that the students have fully understood these tasks. You should specifically focus on Exercise 4
from the Private Study section.

Exercise 2:

Work in groups. Calculate the simple regression line and the coefficient of determination for each of
the following four data sets (Anscombe, 1973). Discuss your findings.

Set A Set B Set C Set D

x y x y x y x y
10 8.04 10 9.14 10 7.46 8 6.58
8 6.95 8 8.14 8 6.77 8 5.76
13 7.58 13 8.74 13 12.74 8 7.71
9 8.81 9 8.77 9 7.11 8 8.84
11 8.33 11 9.26 11 7.81 8 8.47
14 9.96 14 8.1 14 8.84 8 7.04
6 7.24 6 6.13 6 6.08 8 5.25
4 4.26 4 3.1 4 5.39 19 12.5
12 10.84 12 9.13 12 8.15 8 5.56
7 4.82 7 7.26 7 6.42 8 7.91
5 5.68 5 4.74 5 5.73 8 6.89

Reference:

Anscombe, FJ. (1973). ‘Graphs in Statistical Analysis’ The American Statistician 27(1),17-21.

Exercise 3:

a. An advertising company decides which adverts to place in particular magazines. To aid this
decision the company studies the response of subjects to adverts. One study examines the
relationship between subject age and response. For one advert design, the results of a very
small pilot study are below. Calculate the rank coefficient of correlation.

Person Age Band Attitude

Anastasia 15-29 very good
Beryl 25-34 neither good nor poor
Cheryl 35-44 good
Deborah 45-54 very poor
Elizabeth >54 poor

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b. A separate study for another advert resulted in the following data. Calculate the rank
coefficient of correlation.

Person Age Band Attitude

Alan 15-29 very good
Bertie 25-34 neither good nor poor
Christopher 35-44 good
Dennie 25-34 good
Eric 45-54 poor
Frank >54 poor

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 Topic 12

Topic 12: Data Revision and Exam Preparation

12.1 Learning Objectives

This topic provides an overview of preparing for both time-constrained assessments in general, and
the Skills for Computing time-constrained assessment in particular. On completion of the topic, you
will be able to:

• Create revision strategies;

• Prepare for an time-constrained assessment;
• Prepare for the Skills for Computing time-constrained assessment.

12.2 Timings
Seminars: 3 hours

Private Study: 6 hours

Tutorials: 2 hours

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12.3 Seminar Notes
The seminars for this topic will last for 3 hours.

Activity 1: Exam Walkthrough

Look at the sample exam paper. Read through the instructions on the cover sheet. Note how many
questions there are and how many you are required to answer.

Now take a few minutes on your own to consider how you would go about answering each question,
and make some notes on your copy (this is exactly what you should do at the start of an exam).

Now discuss each question – what it is asking for and how you would tackle it – with the rest of your
class. Your tutor will be able to advise you based on the marking scheme, but this will not be given
out yet.

Activity 2: Preparing for the Exam

Make a list of all the things, however small, you do to prepare for an exam. Divide them into the
following categories:

• The few days preceding an exam

• On the day and in the room

When you have made your own list, compare them with others in your class. What did you list in
common, and what did you list differently?

Activity 3: Types of Questions

In groups of 2-4 people, make a list of key differences in how you would approach essay-type or
‘long answer’ questions, as opposed to calculations and arithmetical problems

Activity 4: Using Your Time

Look at the sample time-constrained assessment paper for this module. Plan how you would spend
your time in the exam if you had to sit it.

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12.4 Private Study
You should spend approximately 6 hours on the Private Study for this topic. You should use this
time to complete the exercises below as directed by your lecturer and to review the contents of this
topic.

Exercise 1: Revision Timetable

Having a clear revision timetable is of vital importance to exam success.

Draw out a timetable of all the days between now and your Skills for Computing Exam. Estimate
how many hours you have available for revising for this module on each day. If you are taking other
exams in the same cycle, make notes on your total revision time available, and then decide how to
split it between different modules. Based on the exam plan in Seminar Activity One, decide which
topic(s) you will be working on in each session. Add up the amount of time spent on each topic at
the end; is the balance right, and is there enough time overall? You may need to make revisions if
not.

Exercise 2:

Look at the sample exam paper again. Pick any 2 (TWO) questions (at least) and practice
answering them in the time available according to the exam time plan you developed in the Seminar.

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12.5 Tutorial Notes
The tutorials for this topic will last for 2 hours. You can expect to spend some of this time discussing
your answers to the Private Study exercises with your lecturer and other students. Your lecturer will
then direct you on completing the tasks below.

Exercise 1: Marking Scheme

Your tutor will now give you the marking scheme for the sample exam.

How did the marking scheme differ from your ideas on how to answer the questions? What were the
examiners looking for which you had not identified? And for which questions did you accurately
predict what you would need to do to answer the question fully?

Exercise 2: Self-Assessment

Take the questions which you answered as practice in your private study time.

Mark one of them according to the marking scheme for the exam. Consider where you gained
marks, and where you lost them, and make some notes on this.

Now swap your other practice answer with someone else in your class, and mark each other’s’
answers according to the Marking Scheme. Did you agree with each other’s’ marks?

Hand your practice answers to your tutor, who will mark them and return them to you. How close
were you to your tutor’s mark? Consider also what you have learned about marking an exam from
this experience, and what that means when taking one.

Exercise 3: Revision Timetable

Discuss your revision timetable with other students in your group. Explain how you decided to
allocate your time.

Hand your revision timetable to your tutor, who will give you feedback on how you have apportioned
your revision time.

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