This is a lesson plan for 16 to 17 year old students that focuses on developing students' understanding of the relative strengths and weaknesses of various representations of real world univariate statistics. Students work in groups to research different visual representations and create a wiki page of their findings.
Type of Material:
Lesson plan
Recommended Uses:
Part of this lesson could be done in class, but students could work in groups outside of class as long as Internet access was available
Technical Requirements:
Students would need access to the Internet and knowledge of how to use and construct wikis
Identify Major Learning Goals:
• Have students develop understanding of different visual representations for univariate statistics
• Have students develop a wiki
• Have students understand the strengths and weaknesses of different visual displays
Target Student Population:
High school, College general ed, College lower division
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Students would need experience in accessing information from the Internet, knowledge of how to write proper citations for sources, and knowledge of wiki creation sites and wiki spaces.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The lesson plan provides a nice structure for a lesson that would be student-centered and allow students to develop their own understanding about visual representations. It encourages appropriate statistical practice, integrates graphics and multimedia when appropriate, and integrates the concepts in statistics using appropriate statistical representations.
Concerns:
This lesson plan could be improved by providing more information about how wikis work, what the author feels are strengths and weaknesses of different visual representations as a guide for teachers, example websites for data, example assessment questions to assess students understanding of displays, and a rubric on what students could include in their wiki displays. Students’ prior experience with mathematics or statistics that will aid them in this task is not described.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The module is student-centered and students construct their own representations. The wiki pages would allow the teacher opportunities for formative assessment. The lesson involves a real world context, and the student artifacts from the lesson are also realistic.
Concerns:
The lesson plan would allow for quality student learning, but more direction could be provided in the lesson plan on the strengths and weaknesses of different displays to help teachers.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The lesson allows students to have a kind of power in their own learning. The lesson is well-structured and interactive. It seems like it would really engage students. The instructions are clear as well.
Concerns:
More detailed information about wikis, data sources, and visual representations, and assessment items, could be included. Also, it might be more useful if information could be shared about how grades might be given for group work.
Creative Commons:
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