Abstract
To evaluate data collection and feedback as a means of teaching basic statistical concepts, sections of a human development course were randomly assigned to a continuous feedback, partial feedback, or no feedback condition. In all three conditions, students contributed personal information at the beginning of each class. After each class, the instructor analyzed the information in order to provide feedback about class frequencies, means, standard deviations, and correlations. Students received this feedback either daily (continuous condition), on an average of twice per month (partial condition), or never (control condition). On an end-of-semester test of statistical concepts, students in the continuous feedback condition scored significantly better than did the students in the other two conditions.
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