Bare bones,or a rich feast? Taking care with context in a data rich world

Providing a rich context has become a sine qua non of principled teaching of applied statistical thinking. With increasing opportunities to access secondary data, there should be increasing opportunity to work with rich context. We review the contextual information provided in 41 data sets suitable for introductory tertiary statistics teaching, available in the R “datasets” package, and investigate the source information for four data sets. We find failure to describe and retain important contextual information, including aspects that raise questions about the credibility of the data for statistical inference. The sanitization of data reduces the opportunities for learning meaningful lessons in statistical thinking and the real-world application of statistics. We advocate for teachers and users of such data to be curious about the provenance and context, and for the curators and distributors to examine, where possible, the primary sources, to accurately preserve the context and optimize pedagogical opportunities.     

Using Real‐Life Major League Baseball Data in an Introductory Statistics Course

A primary goal of introductory statistics courses is to develop a student's ability to think statistically. To motivate students to this end, the literature suggests that statistics courses use exercises that are relevant and familiar to students. Work in educational psychology highlights the importance of connecting new concepts to pre‐existing knowledge, mental models, or schema. One method to meet these criteria is to develop exercises and problems that use real‐life data. While real‐life data provide a context for the application of statistical methods, the data does not necessarily provide a context or process for developing the ability to think statistically. This teaching brief describes a set of logical, sequential, and ready‐to‐use exercises that motivate statistical inquiry and thought in line with the GAISE College Report recommendations. The exercises use real‐life data freely sourced from Major League Baseball and the nonfiction story of Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. Student reactions indicate that these exercises, which are anchored in real‐life data with a real‐life story, are successful in motivating student interest in statistics.     

巢湖学院经济管理类专业《统计学》课程教学改革探析

针对巢湖学院应用型本科高校的特点,强调在经管类专业《统计学》课程教学过程中要注重培养学生的统计思维和应用能力。在教学内容和教学方式改革上主要体现在突出描述性统计的教学、实行项目组参与、实施案例教学、强化统计分析软件的应用和注意案例库的建设等方面。在本课程教学改革中我们面临硬件条件不足、后续经费难以保障、课时量尚显不足、学生相关技能较低及依赖思想较严重和考核形式改革难以开展等困难和问题。为此,需要进一步地争取学校支持,加大改革力度,真正使课程教学达到教有所成、学有所益的目的。     

An investigation of prospective secondary mathematics teachers’ conceptual knowledge of and attitudes towards statistics

The development of statistical literacy is fast becoming the focus of a large part of mathematics instruction at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. This broadening of the mathematics curriculum to encompass a focus on statistics makes considerable demands on teachers. Most mathematics teachers acknowledge the practical importance of statistics and are willing to give more relevance to the teaching of statistics; however, many mathematics teachers do not consider themselves well prepared to teach statistics. The aims of this study were to investigate the conceptual understanding of statistics of prospective secondary mathematics teachers; the nature of their attitudes towards statistics and if there was a relationship between attitude towards statistics and conceptual understanding of statistics. Conceptual understanding was measured using a standard assessment instrument (comprehensive assessment of outcomes in a first statistics course) which allows comparison across other disciplines. Despite being very mathematically able and confident, the prospective mathematics teachers in this study do no better in the assessment than students from other (mostly non-quantitative) disciplines. This, perhaps, gives further evidence that statistical thinking is different from mathematical thinking and that a strong background in mathematics does not necessarily translate to statistical thinking. Conceptual knowledge was poor in some fundamental areas of statistics such as being able to properly describe the distribution of a quantitative variable and data production. The attitudes of these teachers towards statistics were measured using a widely used instrument (survey of attitudes towards statistics). The results indicate generally positive attitudes but an acknowledgement that statistics is not a subject quickly learned by everyone and requires discipline to learn. No strong correlation was found between attitudes and conceptual knowledge. It is recommended that in order to improve teacher knowledge, teacher education programmes must include tailored modules in statistics and highlight the differences between mathematical and statistical thinking.     

教师备课思维范式的转换及教学创新

教师备课思维范式的研究，是教师思维研究的有机组成部分。在教学活动中，备课作为第一环节，教师以什么样的哲学观念来指导教学设计，直接体现了相应教育理念。本文指出传统的备深思维范式已不能适应新世纪素质教育的发展要求，提出了构建以人为本、以引导学生学习为主、以学生活动为焦点的新备课思维范式的设想，从而促进教学创新。     

Using the Five Faces of Oppression to Teach About Interlocking Systems of Oppression

In social justice education a tension sometimes emerges between the complex ideas we want participants to grapple with and the relatively straightforward activities we use to communicate those ideas. We adapt learning activities to meet participants’ evolving needs and to communicate emerging theories and analyses, but sometimes adjusting an activity's content is not enough; the activity's very structure can contradict our stated frameworks and undermine the content we wish to convey. In this article I explore two activities commonly used for teaching about systems of oppression whose structures inadvertently support linear, single-issue thinking, and largely fail to account for intersectionality, despite educators’ best efforts to incorporate more complex content. I describe an alternative activity, structured around Iris Marion Young's The Five Faces of Oppression, that can be used to teach about multiple, interlocking systems of oppression while highlighting rather than obscuring the specificity of interrelationships among those systems.     

试论儒家的教学思想及其影响

儒家教学思想内涵丰富,其教学目标是直接为社会培养经世致用的人才,教学内容以道德教育、知识能力培养为载体,体现德能一致,教学原则主张学思(学问、学行)一致、因材施教、启发诱导、循序渐进、多样和谐,教学理念灌输民本思想,通俗适用。这些共同构建我国古代教学思想的精华,后世历代教学思想以此为根基,不断发展完善。     

A Project-Based Approach to Statistics and Data Science

Abstract

In an increasingly data-driven world, facility with statistics is more important than ever for our students. At institutions without a statistician, it often falls to the mathematics faculty to teach statistics courses. This paper presents a model that a mathematician asked to teach statistics can follow. This model entails connecting with faculty from numerous departments on campus to develop a list of topics, building a repository of real-world datasets from these faculty, and creating projects where students interface with these datasets to write lab reports aimed at consumers of statistics in other disciplines. The end result is students who are well prepared for interdisciplinary research, who are accustomed to coping with the idiosyncrasies of real data, and who have sharpened their technical writing and speaking skills.     

In response to David Greenwood’s ‘Place mobility and faculty life: mindfulness through change’ through the lens of science teacher education programs

In writing this review, I draw on the experience of David Greenwood (Cult Stud Sci Educ 10:5–16, 2015) whose ethnographic study sheds light on his growth as a faculty member who has taught in various settings that are quite different from the culture that he grew up with. I extend his thoughts on ecological mindfulness to encompass a culturally aware method of teaching based on place sensitized more to the needs of science teacher preparation programs. The methods used in writing the review included literature searches for articles that incorporate ecological mindfulness and culturally responsive teaching in science teacher preparation programs and reflected ideas voiced in Greenwood’s article. Although he seems that he is primarily addressing other faculty members, his experiences can be used as lifelong lessons for preservice teachers entering a primarily homogeneous workforce expected to teach an increasingly diverse student population. His humor, use of Haiku, poetry and mindfulness as a way of becoming one with a culture that he is not accustomed has many lessons that prove useful in training more culturally responsive teachers. In light of an increasingly diverse US student population versus a stagnantly homogeneous teaching workforce, his reflective practice will prove useful to teachers who are expected to teach students with cultures different from their own.     

中学英语教学中的情境教学法应用

句型是根据句子的结构意义和特定的含义而总结出的典型结构。传统的英语句型教学过分强调句型格式和结构,孤立、机械地操练句型,忽视了语言的交际功能。结合“情境式”英语教学法教授英语句型,在英语课堂教学中设置合理有效的媒体、问题、活动、作业等情境,可以使学生在真实的语言环境中,积极主动参与交际活动,并在活动中领悟句型的结构和含义,提高学生的语用能力,并训练学生的英语思维能力。     

Writing: Crafting and Creating

This article argues, in the context of national concern about standards in writing, for a reconceptualisation of the teaching of writing that acknowledges both the significance of the writer's voice and the need to teach about how written texts create meaning. The teaching of writing requires the dual activities of creating and crafting: young writers need opportunities to express their ideas and support in developing understanding of how best to shape those ideas.     

大数据背景下经管类专业统计学课程教学改革研究

大数据时代对经管领域人才的统计分析能力提出了更高的要求,高校经管类专业统计学课程需要与时俱进。文章在分析目前统计学教学中存在的问题基础上,提出基于大数据背景下的课程教学目标与改革思路,并从教学内容、教学方法、教学手段、案例教学、实践教学、师资等方面提出了改革的路径和措施。通过统计学教学改革,旨在培养学生统计思维和数据处理能力,提升教学水平。     

Integrating the entrepreneurial mindset into solar energy statistical analysis and performance modeling

Statistical knowledge is required for students in a range of disciplines. However, there are limited educator resources that exist for applying statistics to solve real-world problems. This investigation provides one approach to teaching statistics using entrepreneurial-minded learning (as a way to connect real-world applications and value creation with problem-solving and curiosity) in the context of solar energy. Both the ready-to-use teaching intervention and assessment of student learning details are provided for an undergraduate course on Introductory Statistics. The teaching intervention includes a series of seven lesson plans (and three extension projects) that educators can use in an introductory statistics course.     

TEACHING IN CONTEXT: ENHANCING THE PROCESSES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE MATHEMATICS

Teaching in context can be defined as teaching a mathematical idea or process by using a problem, situation, or data to enhance the teaching and learning process. The same problem or situation may be used many times, at different mathematical levels to teach different objectives. A common misconception exists that assigning/teaching applications is teaching in context. While both use problems, the difference is in timing, in purpose, and in student outcome. In this article, one problem situation is explored thoroughly at different levels of understanding and other ideas are suggested for classroom explorations.     

Developing a Data-Driven Assessment for Early Childhood Candidates

ABSTRACT

Decision-making is essential for the work of teaching. Preservice teachers must learn to leverage knowledge about young readers’ strengths, needs, and interests in order to plan and teach guided reading lessons skillfully. However, limited research examines preservice teachers’ decision-making based on what they know about individual children. In this qualitative case study, we report findings from 12 preservice teachers enrolled in a reading methods course who used teacher knowledge to inform their teaching decisions for guided reading lessons with Kindergarteners. Findings reveal how participants used knowledge of learners to make planning as well as in-the-moment teaching decisions. The data show that most of these decisions were lesson planning decisions about text selection and word solving strategies, indicating that participants were beginning to engage in responsive teaching strategies. This study makes a new contribution to early childhood teacher education literature by underscoring the significance of learner knowledge in the context of authentic teaching practice while learning to teach guided reading to young children.     

多元智能视角下英语课堂活动设计策略

加德纳的多元智能理论为英语教师提供了全新的教学理念,一方面教师要根据学生的多元智能组合特点因材施教,设计多元化的课堂活动;另一方面教师也要根据情况随时变更自身角色以满足学生的需要,帮助学生形成自主学习的科学思维模式,真正做到授之以渔,寓教于乐。     

Learning to Teach About Ideas and Evidence in Science: The Student Teacher as Change Agent

A collaborative curriculum development project was set up to address the lack of good examples of teaching about ideas and evidence and the nature of science encountered by student teachers training to teach in the age range 11–16 in schools in England. Student and teacher-mentor pairs devised, taught and evaluated novel lessons and approaches. The project design required increasing levels of critique through cycles of teaching, evaluation and revision of lessons. Data were gathered from interviews and students’ reports to assess the impact of the project on student teachers and to what extent any influences survived when they gained their first teaching posts. A significant outcome was the perception of teaching shifting from the delivery of standard lessons in prescribed ways to endeavours demanding creativity and decision-making. Although school-based factors limited newly qualified teachers’ chances to use new lessons and approaches and therefore act as change-agents in schools, the ability to critique curriculum materials and the recognition of the need to create space for professional dialogue were durable gains.     

Using some forensic anthropology history to illustrate regression

The use of real contexts and history in the teaching of statistical principles holds much attraction in the classroom. This is especially so when the examples used are in situations that are quite out of the ordinary but can lead to further investigation by the students. Previous instances of these have been used with great effect with sporting data and even courtroom decisions. In this article, a very practical problem in forensic science is tackled using elementary statistics with some spectacular and extremely useful results.