Building Support Communities for Statistics Educators

It's been a week since I returned home from Japan and I think I am finally recovered from the jet lag. At least, I hope I am. I spent a couple of days in Tokyo, then took the Shinkansen to Kyoto for the 10th International Conference on Teaching Statistics (ICOTS). Lynette Hudiburgh [of Miami University] and I presented about a topic near and dear to us – statistics teacher support communities.

Video: Random Sampling

Pew Research Center has just launched Methods 101, "a new occasional video series dedicated to explaining and educating the public about the basic methods we use to conduct our survey research."

U.S. Census Bureau: Statistics in Schools

The U.S. Census Bureau unveiled its newly updated Statistics in Schools program for K-12 teachers and students earlier this month. Using current and historical data, the Census Bureau program provides teachers the tools to help students understand statistical concepts and improve their data analysis skills. There are free online activities and other resources available in geography, history, social studies, sociology, as well as math.

It looks good.

Statistics Education & Social Justice

In August, I facilitated and attended a planning day with some fellow AP Statistics teachers at Math for America in NYC. We meet regularly throughout the year but we decided that the end of September was too long to wait to fully prepare for our year. Over a dozen of us showed up at the MƒA offices and spent over 4 hours discussing prep for our AP Stats courses. One of the main things on the agenda: how to incorporate social justice into our stats classes.

TMC NYC 2016 and Commute Times

I had a really great time at the mini Twitter Math Camp (TMC) conference in NYC last month. I met up with a great group of teachers to discuss math and teaching. I also presented about the statistical investigation process using commute times as a context.

Statistical Questions

What makes a question a statistical question? Furthermore, what makes a good statistical question?

The Common Core State Standards (6.SP.A.1) describes it like this:

... one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, “How old am I?” is not a statistical question, but “How old are the students in my school?” is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students’ ages.

This statistics standard is slated for 6th grade students¹, but I recently heard a more effective explanation of what a statistical question is that will be relevant for middle school, high school, and college statistics. It also defines what makes a statistical question a good one, which the Common Core definition does not.

ASA's Prediction 2016 Contest

The American Statistical Association has a challenge for stats-savvy students: predict* the next U.S. president!

Prediction* 2016 is a contest for high school and undergraduate college students to predict* the winner of the U.S. presidential election using statistical methods. Winners will receive a variety of prizes and perks, including exposure to the nation’s leading statisticians and data scientists.

The Wrong Way to Target Math (Part III)

I have waited over two months to continue my thoughts on Andrew Hacker. To be honest, the draft of this post has been sitting untouched since my first two posts. I thought the wait might help me mollify my response to his NY Times OpEd pieces and The Math Myth. Largely, though, it hasn't. I am still just as frustrated as I was before. Here, I'll try my best to wrap up my thoughts because I am eager to put him out of my mind soon. My goal is to answer questions like "Who Needs Statistics?" and "Is Political Science Necessary?" But first, in order for you to fully understand, I'll need to talk about knitting. No, really.

The Wrong Way to Target Math (Part II)

Andrew Hacker: Which graph wore it better? 

Now that we've summarized the Hacker philosophy of math education, let's get back to my issues with the most recent Andrew Hacker OpEd regarding his insults to AP Statistics. This is where I start to get angry.

The Wrong Way to Target Math (Part I)

If you know me (or follow me on Twitter), you know I have a few choice words for people like Andrew Hacker, with his anti-math stance and negative opinions on math education. I wasn't going to write anything because I didn't want to lend credibility to him or his agenda, but I can't contain myself any longer. He's really pissed me off with his most recent NY Times OpEd "The Wrong Way to Teach Math" by taking aim directly at AP Statistics. Don't worry, I promise I did not use profane language.  I used as little profane language as I could.

Putting Stats Projects into Practice

Over the years, one of the ways that I've grown as a stats educator is to incorporate more projects and activities into my classroom routine. I often use these projects as a cumulative assessment and as a way to summarize units. These projects can be time-consuming, but I find they are worth doing to help students assimilate information and apply statistical skills in new ways. They help make concepts more tangible, and have been a contributing factor in my students success on traditional tests like the AP exam.

I often get asked how I balance projects with the packed AP Stats curriculum, make the projects appealing for students, and ensure student success. One of the most satisfying comments I got last year from a student in regard to her final project: "Never enjoyed a project this much. It didn't even feel like a project." It has taken me a while to get the hang of how to make project-based tasks work. Now that I've done lots of rounds of them, though, I love how much it has influenced the culture of learning in my classroom.

So, here's a long overdue post to respond to these requests. (While this advice is based on my experience with statistics projects, I see no reason why they wouldn't apply to any STEM project.)

New Page: Stats Things Loved

I have now included a page dedicated to some of my favorite resources for AP Statistics and teaching statistics. These are websites, textbooks, videos, course material, and generally fun statistics-related things that I love.

Now available at: Stats Things Loved

Have any suggestions or comments? Please feel free to contact me.

Randomization Tests: Using Technology to Guide Inferential Thinking

In my AP Statistics classes, I have been using simulations as a means to teach various topics in the curriculum. For the past year or so, I've introduced the use of StatKey to do randomization tests.

Using Data in the Science Classroom

Last December, one of my Math for America colleagues, science teacher Liz Whelan, gave a talk about how her students use real-time data to investigate research questions about local water quality.

Lost in Translation, the Statistics Edition

If you speak multiple languages, then you're very much aware of words that easily get lost in translation. If you speak "Statistics," this happens just the same. Students tell me that one of the hardest things about learning Statistics is the vocabulary, learning and using the terminology correctly. Being a Statistics teacher has made me increasingly aware of certain statistical vocabulary that students, and people in general, use that often don't mean exactly what they think they mean.

Here are five statistical words and concepts that I think can sometimes get lost in translation: