By Donna LaLonde and Rebecca Nichols “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.” ― Bill Gates As you plan how you will get your students working together and how you will assess their learning, we want to share some of our favorite technology ideas. Idea 1: CCSS Mathematical Practice … [Read more...] about 7 Prime Technology Ideas to Begin the New School Year
Lesson Plan: Are Female Hurricanes Deadlier Than Male Hurricanes?
By Mary Richardson (Grades 6-8, 9-12+) Originally published in June of 2014, this lesson uses a data set partially discussed in the article "Female Hurricanes Are Deadlier Than Male Hurricanes," written by Kiju Junga, Sharon Shavitta, Madhu Viswanathana, and Joseph M. Hilbed. The data set contains archival data on actual fatalities caused by hurricanes in the United States … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: Are Female Hurricanes Deadlier Than Male Hurricanes?
Lesson Plan: The Egg Roulette Game
By Amanda Walker (Grades 9-12+) This lesson, published in August of 2017, uses a probability game and computer simulations to explore the law of large numbers, conditional events, sampling distributions, and the central limit theorem. Video clips from "The Tonight Show" are shown to students in which Jimmy Fallon plays the egg roulette game with celebrities. Students play … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: The Egg Roulette Game
Lesson Plan: First Day Statistics Activity—Grouping Qualitative Data
By R.B. Campbell (Grades 6-8, 9-12+) This activity, published in April of 2014, provides a foundation for distinguishing between qualitative (categorical) and quantitative data and how they can be summarized and analyzed (a topic encountered early in a statistics course). This lesson illustrates how categorical data can be grouped to make the data comprehensible. It also … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: First Day Statistics Activity—Grouping Qualitative Data
How to Lie (to Congress) with Statistics
By Kirk Anderson and Mary Richardson, Grand Valley State University On September 17, 2014, testimony was given at a House Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Committee hearing. Participants included a member of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas), and the chief of staff for the Phoenix VA Health Care System, Dr. Darren Deering. Rep. Huelskamp took issue with … [Read more...] about How to Lie (to Congress) with Statistics
Editors’ Note: Spring
We are thrilled to share with you some exciting news. We are merging the Statistics Teacher Network (STN) and Statistics Education Web journal of online lesson plans (STEW)! The new online publication will be known as Statistics Teacher. There will be two co-editors, formerly the editors of STN and STEW, and a managing editor, the ASA’s K-12 Statistics Education Ambassador … [Read more...] about Editors’ Note: Spring
Announcements: Spring 2017
2017 Poster and Project Competitions Introduce your K–12 students to statistics through the annual poster and project competitions directed by the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability. The competitions offer opportunities for students to formulate questions and collect, analyze, and draw conclusions from data. Winners will be recognized with … [Read more...] about Announcements: Spring 2017
Developing Authentic Assessments
Developing authentic formative and summative assessments is challenging, so this column will focus on suggestions for lesson-specific assessments to overarching frameworks. The Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) Report: A Pre-K–12 Curriculum Framework, published in 2007, remains an important resource for developing authentic … [Read more...] about Developing Authentic Assessments
Technology Insights
By Rebecca Nichols and Donna LaLonde One of the Standards for Mathematical Practice calls on students to “Use appropriate tools strategically.” In part, this practice viewed through a statistical lens is described in the Statistical Education of Teachers (SET) report as, “Statistically proficient students at various grade levels are able to use technological tools to carry … [Read more...] about Technology Insights
Where’s Wenda? An Activity on Teaching Middle-School Students Data Privacy
By Claire M. Bowen and Evercita C. Eugenio When middle school students hear the word science, many imagine looking at bacteria under a microscope or mixing chemicals over a Bunsen burner, not writing mathematical equations or typing code on a computer. At the University of Notre Dame, 230–280 middle-school girls (6th through 8th grade) attend Expanding Your Horizons (EYH), … [Read more...] about Where’s Wenda? An Activity on Teaching Middle-School Students Data Privacy