The Mean and Variability from the Mean

The Pre-K-12 GAISE report emphasizes that students should be able to do more than just calculate summary statistics; they need conceptual understanding of those statistics that deepens as they progress through different levels of statistical literacy (Levels A, B, and C). The purpose of this activity is to develop students’ conceptual understanding of numerical summaries used to describe the center and spread of a distribution of quantitative data.

In this lesson from Christine Franklin, Gary Kader, Tim Jacobbe, and Kaycie Maddox, students investigate how to interpret the mean at Level A (fair share value) and then at Level B (the balance point of a distribution). The students will also explore how to describe and interpret the variability in data from the mean at Level A (using the number of steps from fair) and Level B (using the MAD). What students discover in this lesson provides a foundation in their conceptual thinking for future use of the standard deviation in Level C (high school).

Download Lesson Plan (PDF).
Download Worksheet (Word document).