Editor’s Note: Fall 2021
Statistics Teacher Managing Editor Christine Franklin provides an overview of the feature article and lesson plans in this issue.
Announcements: Fall 2021
A roundup of statistics and education-related information, deadlines, and opportunities.
Thinking Like a Data Scientist: A Cross-Disciplinary Investigation on Climate Change
Anna Gralnik posed the following investigative question to her 5th grade class: What are typical climate challenges that affect our community? Keep reading to find out how they answered.
Using Photographs as Data Sources to Tell Stories About Our Favorite Outdoor Spaces
Three lesson plans that use photos as data sources show it is possible to take an idea and develop it to best suit the interests of your students and you.
Skew The Script: A Website Offering Socially Relevant Math Lessons
Skew The Script lessons identify misleading data arguments and show students how the tools of statistics can be used to gain a deeper understanding of some of our country’s longstanding problems. Even more important, the lessons provide students from widely differing backgrounds with a common analytical lens (rigorous data analysis) for heightened discourse around social issues.
Developing the Theory of Hypothesis Testing: An Exploration
There are many concepts associated with hypothesis testing, but it all comes down to variation. How unusual is the variation we observe in a sample?
Students can often lose sight of this basic idea once they have learned the various procedures introduced in an introductory statistics course. Further, they may blindly follow the procedure and never question the impact of the sample size or magnitude of variation on the conclusion they draw.
Nonlinear Modeling: Something Fishy
In this lesson by Douglas Whitaker, students explore nonlinear regression models to explain fish weight by using fish length. They will use both transformation of the response variable and polynomial regression.
Announcements: Spring 2021
A roundup of statistics and education-related information and opportunities
Some New Old Assessment Ideas
When 2020 pitched its curveball at educators, one of the largest challenges we faced was finding equitable, meaningful assessments that could be delivered remotely. In other words, could we write exam questions we thought students would find authentic and still allow us to feel confident we were learning about students’ individual achievements?
Developing the Theory of Hypothesis Testing: An Exploration
There are many concepts associated with hypothesis testing, but it all comes down to variation. How unusual is the variation we observe in a sample?
Students can often lose sight of this basic idea once they have learned the various procedures introduced in an introductory statistics course. Further, they may blindly follow the procedure and never question the impact of the sample size or magnitude of variation on the conclusion they draw.
