By Jane Watson and Noleine Fitzallen, University of Tasmania This article is based on professional learning devised to help Australian middle-school teachers build an appreciation for randomness before content related to sampling and variables are introduced in later years. It is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation teachers, teacher educators, and professional learning … [Read more...] about Building Understanding of Randomness from Ideas About Variation and Expectation
Archives for September 2019
Lesson Plan: A Tale of One City and Two Lead Measurements
By Kirk Anderson and Mary Richardson, Grand Valley State University Overview of Lesson In 2014, a crisis began when the city of Flint Michigan switched its water supply in an effort to save money and the water became contaminated with lead. The EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule states that if lead concentrations exceed an action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb) in more than … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: A Tale of One City and Two Lead Measurements
Catherine Case Takes STEW’s Reins
The ASA-NCTM Joint Committee on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability is excited to announce Catherine Case as the new editor for STEW. Catherine brings a wealth of experience in working with statistics at the school level. She is passionate about advocating for the necessity of helping all school-level students develop statistical reasoning skills and knowing how to make … [Read more...] about Catherine Case Takes STEW’s Reins
Ambiguity: The Biggest Challenge Lies Ahead
By George Cobb Thoughtful statisticians know what far too many users of statistical methods do not, the big and open secret that hides in plain sight: Inference from data cannot be reduced to rules. To oversimplify, but only a little, the mistaken readiness of students and researchers to rely on rules in statistics has its roots in two sources: a natural human instinct … [Read more...] about Ambiguity: The Biggest Challenge Lies Ahead
Editors’ Note: Fall
Welcome to a new school year! We hope this issue of Statistics Teacher finds you well and lends some inspiration to your statistical teaching this year. The fall 2019 issue includes the following: “Teaching Quartile Location-Using Sample Size Divisibility,” comes from Jon-Paul Paolino, a faculty member at Mercy College in New York who teaches introductory statistics … [Read more...] about Editors’ Note: Fall
Teaching Quartile Location Using Sample Size Divisibility
By Jon-Paul Paolino, Mercy College Quartiles are descriptive measures of location that can be introduced to students as early as primary school and are taught at the tertiary education level across the world. To successfully locate the quartiles of a univariate data set, basic counting and arithmetic are required. However, particularly in the tertiary-level statistics … [Read more...] about Teaching Quartile Location Using Sample Size Divisibility
Using LOCUS Released Items with Practicing Teachers
By Christopher Engledowl and Tracey Gorham Blanco, New Mexico State University Throughout the past 20 years, it has been largely accepted that statistics is not mathematics, albeit statistics makes use of mathematics. For instance, the Statistical Education of Teachers (SET) report states “teachers also should recognize the features of statistics that set it apart as a … [Read more...] about Using LOCUS Released Items with Practicing Teachers
Announcements: Fall
Upcoming Deadlines ThisIsStatistics Data Contests Deadlines in October of 2019 and Spring of 2020 Challenge your high-school and undergraduate students with ThisIsStatistics’ annual statistics contests. The Fall Data Challenge allows students to explore a timely real-world issue that demonstrates a career in statistics can drive social change. This years’ challenge will … [Read more...] about Announcements: Fall
Lesson Plan: Choosing a Study Design for the Polio Vaccine
By Adam Molnar, Oklahoma State University Overview of Lesson This activity, based on real meetings during the 1954 Salk polio vaccine study, asks students to decide on an experimental design to test the polio vaccine. Students take one of multiple roles—such as statistician, parent, and government—that may lead to different design choices. Real-world study design involves … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: Choosing a Study Design for the Polio Vaccine