James Guffey’s Home Page

Updates:

I retired from Truman in December, 2018.  I moved back to my hometown of Albany, KY and began to teach mathematics at my old high school (Clinton County High School).

After 3 1/2 years, I retired from Clinton County High School effective June 30, 2022.  I am enjoying my time.

Sites of Interest:

How to contact me

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Education and Experience

Centre College

Missouri S&T

  • Assistant Professor, 1988-1993
    Associate Professor, 1993-2001
    Full Professor, 2001-2018 Truman State University
    Mathematics Teacher, 2019 – 2022 Clinton County High School, Albany, KY
    RETIRED      2022 to present

 Truman State University

  • State of Missouri Educator’s Certificate, Initial Professional Certification in Mathematics for grades 9-12, 1/1/2013 to 1/1/2021.
  • Advanced Placement (AP) Consultant for Statistics (2014),
    College Board.
  • College Readiness Program Consultant for AP Statistics (2014),
    National Math + Science Initiative (NMSI).
  • Coach, NMSI, 2022 to present.
  • Tutor, Varsity Tutors, 2022 to present.

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Teaching Interests

Classroom Interests

  • Use of the Computer and Technology in the Classroom
  • Use of Data in the Classroom
  • Assessment of Teaching Effectiveness

Senior Capstone Projects Directed

  • Laurel Berner, “Distribution Plots,” 1997-1998.
  • Kim Shelley, “A Study of the Randomized Response Technique,” 1998-1999.
  • Graham Royer, “Probability of Ruin,” 1999-2000.
  • Lisa Muldoon, “NCAA Basketball Tournament Modeling,” 1999-2000.
  • Andrea Ferrell, “Methods of Studying Coincidences,” 1999-2000.
  • Laura Trump, “Problems with Election Recounting,” 2000-2001.
  • Mike Drzakawski, “Testing Random Number Generators,” 2002.
  • Don Schisler, “FAS87 Pension Expense Component Analysis,” 2002.
  • Dan Bredenkoetter, “Rating Football Kickers,” 2004.
  • Alisha Raby, “A Slice of Pi,” 2004-2005.
  • Mark Kamphoefner, “Statistics in the Bowl Championship Series,” 2005-2006.
  • Jeff Mumaw, “Reversals: Game Reversals in the Last Quarter,” 2005-2006.
  • Scott Lesinski, “Measuring Inter-rater Reliability: An In-Depth Look at the Kappa Statistic,” 2006-2007.
  • Katie Evans, “Getting Intimate With Statistics,” 2007.
  • Carrie Dixon, “Nonparametric Tests for Symmetry,” 2007-2008.
  • Lindsy Blair, “Correlations Between Serve Speed and Tiebreak Win Percentage,” 2007-2008.
  • Andrew Haws, “Using Various Systems of Betting to Predict Outcomes on a Roulette Wheel,” 2007-2008.
  • Brian Huck, “Is an .833 Hitter Better Than a .338 Hitter?,” 2008-2009.
  • Lauren Graybeal, “Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner: A Look at the Probability of Winning Craps,” 2009-2010.
  • Nikos Papadopoulos, “An Extension of the Randomized Response Technique,” in progress.
  • Joyce Tipping, “The Skew-Normal Approximation of the Binomial Distribution,” 2010-2011.
  • Teresa Kachman, “An Analysis of the Island Problem,” 2011.
  • Michael Davis, “PDFs and Dual PDFs,” 2011-2012.
  • Samantha Ressler, “The Windfalls of WinFall: A Study of the Unexpected Advantages for Rollback in the Lottery Game WinFall,” 2011-2012.
  • Katelyn Beike, “Obeying the First Digit Law: Detecting Fraud Using Benford Analysis,” 2011-2012.
  • Emily Eck, “Redrafting the Draft: An Alternative NFL Draft Pick Value Chart and an Analysis of Player Positions within the Draft,” 2013-2014.
  • Garrett Kochner, “He Shoots, He Scores: A Renewed Analysis of Goal Scoring in the National Hockey League using the Poisson Distribution,” 2014.
  • Jancee Jarman, “Beanie Babies and Birthdays: A Look at the Classical Occupancy Problem,” 2014-2015.
  • Jarrod Blair, “Discrete Time Markov Chains and the Gambler’s Ruin,” 2015-2016.
  • Mitch Peterson, “Stochastic Predictive Modeling and Deductible Erosion,” 2015-2016.
  • Kaly Edwards, “Studying Randomness in the Digits of Pi,” 2016-2017.
  • Brandon Mueller, “Analyzing the Home Court Advantage,” 2016-2017.
  • Kelsey Beasley, “Comparison of Waiting Times and Expected Waiting Times,” 2016-2017.

Courses Taught AT TRUMAN

Regular

  • Trigonometry — Trigonometry by Kaufman
  • Basic Statistics — Fundamentals of Statistics, 4ed by Sullivan
  • Statistics — Probability and Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences, 8ed by Devore
  • Nonparametric Statistics and Sampling — Practical Nonparametric Statistics, 3ed by Conover and Practical Sampling by Henry
  • Analysis of Variance and Experimental Design — An Introduction to Statistical Methods and Data Analysis, 4ed by Ott
  • Linear Regression and Time Series — Applied Regression Analysis for Business and Economics, 4ed by Dielman
  • Introduction to Probability — Mathematical Statistics, 4ed by Freund and Walpole
  • Introduction to Probability and Mathematical Statistics — Introduction to Probability and Mathematical Statistics, 2ed by Bain and Engelhardt
  • Methods of Optimization — Introduction to Operations Research, 7ed by Hillier and Lieberman
  • Loss Models — Loss Models: From Data to Decisions, 4ed by Klugman, Panjer, and Willmot
  • Teaching Internship

Non-Regular

  • Advanced Placement Professional Development (AP Central)
      – Institutes: One-week seminars for high school teachers of AP Statistics.
      – Workshops: One-day seminars for high school teachers of AP Statistics.
  • National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI)
    College Readiness Program provides one-day workshops for students to prepare for AP Statistics
  • Statistics and Computing Seminar
    An eight-week summer seminar on statistical methods and computer applications for Summer Research Experiences in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program.
  • Project Communication
    A one-week Freshman Week Experience course on values clarification.
  • Preparatory College Algebra
    A three-week summer course in the Joseph Baldwin Academy for Eminent Young Scholars.

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Professional and Research Interests

Professional Associations

ASA

Research Interests

  • Nonhomogeneous Poisson Processes
  • Order Restricted Inference
  • Reliability Theory

Other Professional Interests

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Publications

  • F. T. Wright and J. M. Guffey (1989), “Testing for a Trend in Exponential Means: A Two-Moment Approximation to the Null Distribution of the Likelihood Ratio Statistic.” The Canadian Journal of Statistics, 17, pp. 9-18.
  • M. E. Engelhardt, J. M. Guffey, and F. T. Wright (1990), “Tests for Positive Jumps in the Intensity of a Poisson Process: A Power Study.” IEEE Transactions on Reliablity, 39, pp. 356-360.
  • G. Gordon and J. M. Guffey (1995), “The Role of Assessment in Long-Range Strategic Planning: A Case Study.” A Collection of Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement, 1995 for the program of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education at the 100th Annual Meeting of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, pp. 193-196.
  • J. M. Guffey (1995), “Using Data and the Computer to Teach and to Visualize Concepts in an Introductory Statistics Course.” American Statistical Association 1994 Proceedings of the Section on Statistical Education, pp. 84-87.
  • R. L. Dykstra, H. El Barmi, J. M. Guffey, and F. T. Wright (1996), “Nonhomogeneous Poisson Processes as Overhal Models.” Canadian Journal of Statistics, 24, pp. 217-228.
  • J. M. Guffey and F. T. Wright (1996), “Testing for Monotonicity in the Intensity of a Nonhomogeneous Poisson Process.” Statistics and Probability Letters, 28, pp. 195-202.
  • T. Sutherland and J. M. Guffey (1997), “The Impact of Comprehensive Institutional Assessment on Faculty.” To Improve the Academy, 16, pp. 151-164.

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Personal Interests

Truman Athletics Kentucky Wildcat Athletics Good Guys Rod & Custom Assoc

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