By Beth Chance, Elsa Medina, and Jacquelyn Silverbush, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Statistical inference is the science of drawing conclusions beyond observed sample data to a larger population or process. In a college statistics course, students learn about probability, confidence intervals, and p-values and apply these ideas to research studies. The article “Assessment of … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: If You Only Have One Hour … Teaching Statistical Inference to Youth
Lesson Plan: Exploring Whether a Difference Is a Meaningful Difference
By Tim Jacobbe, Southern Methodist University; Chris Franklin, University of Georgia; Gary Kader, Appalachian State University; and Kaycie Maddox, Northeast Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency Overview of Lesson This investigation focuses on students conducting a comparative experiment to explore whether there are meaningful differences between the number of times … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: Exploring Whether a Difference Is a Meaningful Difference
An Administrative Team / Student Partnership–Centered Student Survey Project
By Kevin W. Reese In December of 2020, Kevin Reese’s department was asked by district administration to create a new math course that would help their most credit-deficient students engage in meaningful mathematics en route to fulfilling their state-required three credits of math. Here, he details the course he created and provides feedback from his students. … [Read more...] about An Administrative Team / Student Partnership–Centered Student Survey Project
Lesson Plan: Exploring Fundamental Definitions with a Study of Fingerprint Types in the US
In this lesson by Katina Gothard and Megan Mocko, students will randomly sample beads out of a bin to simulate random samples of people’s fingerprints. Students will see that the sample proportion of fingerprints with arches (one of the three common fingerprint patterns) varies from sample to sample. The purpose is to guide students in the development of, and identify any … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: Exploring Fundamental Definitions with a Study of Fingerprint Types in the US
Editor’s Note: Fall 2022
Welcome to the fall issue of Statistics Teacher. As you are at the beginning of a new academic school year, we are here at the American Statistical Association and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to support you. We encourage you to browse our website for a wealth of peer-reviewed, open-source resources to guide and inform your teaching. We also encourage you to … [Read more...] about Editor’s Note: Fall 2022
Experiments of Two Identical Coin Tosses
By Biserka Kolarec Students often learn a classical definition of probability early in the process of developing statistical literacy. That definition states that if there are equal odds of all experiment outcomes or events, the probability of a specific event equals the number of favorable outcomes divided by the number of all possible outcomes. The simplest example of a … [Read more...] about Experiments of Two Identical Coin Tosses
Predicting Election Results from Football Statistics (1936–2020): An Archival Analysis in a Real-World Example
By Kenneth M. Cramer, Rebecca Pschibul, and Alexander J. Cramer Scientists are in the business of predicting events (like failed picnics from rain showers) based on empirically salient factors or antecedents (like barometric pressure and wind speed). This business rests on the assumption of determinism—that our universe is knowable with properties that can be measured and … [Read more...] about Predicting Election Results from Football Statistics (1936–2020): An Archival Analysis in a Real-World Example
Announcements: Fall 2022
Submit Lesson Plans, Articles, and Announcements to Statistics Teacher Consider submitting your K–12 statistics lesson plans for publication or writing and sharing an article. We also accept announcement submissions. For more information, see the ST submission guidelines or contact the ST editors. Upcoming Deadlines The Mathematics Education Trust Provides Grants, … [Read more...] about Announcements: Fall 2022
Joint ASA-NCTM Position Statement on Preparing PK–12 Teachers of Statistics and Data Science
Question: What preparation and support do teachers need to successfully support students’ learning of statistics and data science in the prekindergarten–grade 12 curriculum? ASA/NCTM Position Students, teachers, administrators, employers, and others increasingly recognize statistics and data science as important scientific fields of study. Mathematics content standards … [Read more...] about Joint ASA-NCTM Position Statement on Preparing PK–12 Teachers of Statistics and Data Science
Editor’s Note: Spring 2022
This issue of Statistics Teacher features a trio of articles that provide guidance for making use of real data sets and interpreting data representations in context. Hollylynne Lee, Gemma Mojica, and Emily Thrasher present a framework for investigating “big” data sets starting as early as middle school in "Digging Into Data: Illustrating a Data Investigation Process." While … [Read more...] about Editor’s Note: Spring 2022