From the Exploring Data website - http://curriculum.qed.qld.gov.au/kla/eda/
© Education Queensland, 1997

STEPS - Statistics Education through Problem Solving

Statistics software can be categorised in one of two ways - packages designed for doing statistics and packages designed for learning about statistics. Minitab and NCSS fall strictly in the first category, WinStat attempts to do both and ActivStats is designed as a learning tool but has the functionality of a statistics program available through its ‘stats engine’, DataDesk. STEPS is strictly a learning tool, leading students through hypertext-based tutorials on a wide range of statistics topics. For students doing Mathematics A, B and C these tutorials will cover much of the statistics in these courses. The topics that are not covered (e.g. the sign test) are due more to the choice of topics in the syllabuses than those in the STEPS modules.

A Brief Overview of STEPS

The STEPS project brought together nine departments in seven universities throughout the UK to develop problem-based teaching and learning materials for statistics. In all, thirty or so academic statisticians and programmers helped to develop the STEPS materials. The STEPS materials are available at no cost to researchers, teachers and students.

The STEPS modules are grouped by subject, with modules in Psychology, Business, Geography and Biology. A typical STEPS module starts by presenting a realistic problem and then discussing the statistics that will be needed to help find a solution to the problem. The student is lead through the process of finding a solution. Throughout this process students can review the required statistical techniques and consult a glossary for definitions of the statistical terms. All modules have an accompanying student workbook available in Word format in which the student is expected to record results and conclusions. Some of the modules also include a tutor manual, also in Word format, which gives suggestions on how the module can be implemented in the classroom.

How to Get STEPS

STEPS is available from the Internet via its home page in the UK. A program called the STEPS Base must be downloaded and installed first. Each module is then downloaded separately, and must also be installed before use. Full instructions on how to install STEPS, including a section on trouble-shooting, is available from the STEPS website. There are thirty-seven modules available for Windows and one module available for the Macintosh.

As the Internet link to the home site of STEPS is often slow, the STEPS Base and some modules which support statistics topics in Mathematics A, B and C are also available from this page. The STEPS base and the full collection of modules is also available from the University of Newcastle.

The STEPS address in the UK is http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/steps/

The recommended PC specification to run STEPS software is:

• 80486dx with VGA Monitor
• 8MB RAM
• 7MB of disk space for STEPS Base (plus 500Kb to 2.5Mb for each STEPS module)
• MS-DOS 5.0 or greater
• Windows 3.1 or greater

The Base

The Base must be downloaded and installed first. I suggest you visit the STEPS website for downloading instructions. There is also a FAQ (frequently asked questions) page available if you have any difficulties with the installation. It is suggested you read the copyright statement and licensing agreement before you install the Base.

You can download the STEPS base from either the Base download page at the STEPS website, from the University of Newcastle or from this website.

The Modules

Many of the modules either don’t match the topics in our syllabuses or contain material beyond the syllabuses. In the table below I have included a selection of modules that fit well into our Mathematics A, B and C syllabuses, classified according to topic. This table also rates each module (out of 5) on how well the module matches the Queensland syllabuses. There are additional modules (thirty-seven overall) available from the STEPS website.

Instructions for installing the modules are available from the STEPS website.

You may download the modules either from the STEPS website itself or from Education Queensland's curriculum server. To do the latter, click below on the name of the module you wish to download.

Many of the modules either don’t match the topics in our syllabuses or contain material beyond the syllabuses. The table below classifies by topic those modules that fit our Mathematics A, B and C syllabuses. You can download each module by clicking on the name of the module.

The full collection of modules (thirty-seven overall) is available from the modules pages of the STEPS website or from the University of Newcastle.

Instructions for installing the modules are available from the STEPS website.