Focus on measures of data spread - Standard Deviation and Variance
This course delves into the intricacies of statistical analysis with a focus on understanding and measuring data dispersion using Microsoft Excel. It is ideal for students across various disciplines who are eager to enhance their skills in interpreting complex datasets and applying these skills in practical settings.
The course journey begins with a foundational challenge in statistics: transforming a simple list of numbers into meaningful insights. The primary focus is on understanding measures of dispersion, building upon previously learned concepts of central tendency. These concepts will be discussed in the context of complete population data, offering students a comprehensive understanding of how to handle real-world datasets.
Central to the course is the exploration of measures of central tendency, where students will learn about the mean, including its calculation, physical interpretation, and sensitivity to outliers. The median will also be covered, highlighting its importance as a resilient measure against outliers.
Students will discover the basic approach to understanding data spread through the five-number summary—including minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum—and learn about its limitations. Histograms will be introduced as a tool for visual insight into data distribution and dispersion.
The course then delves deeper into the concept of dispersion, focusing on variance and standard deviation. Students will understand variance as the average of the squared differences from the mean and standard deviation as the square root of variance, providing an average measure of how far data points are from the mean. The course will explore why squaring the differences is necessary in these calculations and how this relates to the minimization of the sum of squared differences by the population mean.
Real-world applications of these concepts will also be a significant part of the course. Students will learn to apply these methods to practical scenarios, such as comparing salary dispersion in large corporations across different countries. This section will emphasize the importance of context in interpreting data.
The course concludes by reinforcing the idea that while mean and median are useful measures, they do not offer insights into the spread of data. The limitations of histograms and the five-number summary in providing a complete picture of data dispersion will be discussed. The course will emphasize the standard deviation as a comprehensive numerical measure of how data is spread around the mean.
Combining theoretical instruction with practical Excel exercises, the course ensures that students not only understand these concepts but are also proficient in applying them.
CPA, CGMA, M.S. Tax, CPI
Through working with students from many different schools, Mr. Steele has learned best practices for helping people understand accounting fast. Learning new skills and finding the best way to share knowledge with people who can benefit from it is a passion of his. Mr. Steele has experience working as a practicing Certified Public Accountant (CPA), an accounting and business instructor, and curriculum developer. He has enjoyed putting together quality tools to improve learning and has been teaching, making instructional resources, and building curriculum since 2009. He has been a practicing CPA since 2005. Mr. Steele is a practicing CPA, has a Certified Post-Secondary Instructor (CPI) credential, a Master of Science in taxation from Golden Gate University, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Economics with an emphasis in accounting from The University of California Santa Barbara, and a Global Management Accounting Designation (CGMA) from The American Institute of CPA (AICPA). Mr. Steele has also authored five books that can be found on Amazon or in audiobook format on Audible. He has developed bestselling courses in accounting topics including financial accounting and QuickBooks accounting software. In addition to working as an accountant, teaching, and developing courses Mr. Steele has helped create an accounting website at accountinginstruction, a YouTube channel called Accounting Instruction, Help, and How Too, and has developed supplemental resources including a Facebook Page, Twitter Page, and Podcasts that can be found on I-tunes, Stitcher, or Soundcloud. Mr. Steele's teaching philosophy is to make content applicable, understandable, and accessible. Adult learners are looking for application when they learn new skills. In other words, learners want to be able to apply skills in the real world to help their lives. Mr. Steele’s formal accounting education, practical work experience, and substantial teaching experience allow him to create a curriculum that combines traditional accounting education with practical knowledge and application. He accomplishes the goals of making accounting useful and applicable by combining theory with real-world software like Excel and QuickBooks. Many courses teach QuickBooks data entry or Excel functions but are not providing the real value learners want. Real value is a result of learning technical skills like applications, in conjunction with specific goals, like accounting goals, including being able to interpret the performance of a business. Mr. Steele makes knowledge understandable by breaking down complex concepts into smaller units with specific objectives and using step by step learning processes to understand each unit. Many accounting textbooks cram way too much information into a course, making it impossible to understand any unit fully. By breaking the content down into digestible chunks, we can move forward much faster. Mr. Steele also makes use of color association in both presentations and Excel worksheets, a learning tool often overlooked in the accounting field, but one that can vastly improve the speed and comprehension of learning accounting concepts. The material is also made understandable through the application of concepts learned. Courses will typically demonstrate the accounting concepts and then provide an Excel worksheet or practice problems to work through the concepts covered. The practice problems will be accompanied by an instructional video to work through the problem in step by step format. Excel worksheets will be preformatted, usually including an answer tab that shows the completed problem, and a practice tab where learners can complete the problem along with a step by step presentation video. Mr. Steele makes learning accounting accessible by making use of technology and partnering with teaching platforms that have a vision of spreading knowledge like CPDformula.
