DOCSLIB.ORG

New Tools to Improve Statistical Literacy – Developments and Projects

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
New Tools to Improve Statistical Literacy – Developments and Projects New tools to improve statistical literacy – developments and projects - an ESS priority and reality Louise Corselli-Nordblad, Britta Gauckler Eurostat Paper prepared for the 16th Conference of IAOS OECD Headquarters, Paris, France, 19-21 September 2018 Session 3 E, Thursday, 20/09, 10h30: Improving statistical literacy Louise Corselli-Nordblad [email protected] European Commission-Eurostat Britta Gauckler [email protected] European Commission-Eurostat New tools to improve statistical literacy – developments and projects Prepared for the 16th Conference of the International Association of Official Statisticians (IAOS) OECD Headquarters, Paris, France, 19-21 September 2018 Note: This Paper should not be reported as representing the views of Eurostat. The views expressed are those of the authors. ABSTRACT The need for statistical organisations to invest in statistical literacy is commonly agreed and reinforced by the current concerns around "fake news". Yet, there are numerous open questions around how and what the official statistics community should best invest in this endeavour. An overarching strategy for the European Statistical System (ESS) is missing and one can question if in a fast-paced world a long-term strategy is useful to tackle the issues. As Wild puts it, the statistics education should invest in ways to "…deliver lasting benefits in a fast changing world."1 Under the ESS Vision 2020 project Digital communication, User analytics and Innovative products (DIGICOM) the ESS has started to invest in this area. Initiatives range from building new partnerships with the educational system, piloting innovative tools, such as gamification and competitions, to digital tools which explain statistics in a clear and easy way. This paper will describe the key target groups and the projects in this area. Keywords: statistical literacy; statistical education and promotion; statistical communication 1 Wild, Chris: Statistical literacy as the earth moves. Statistics Education Research Journal, May 2017, Vol. 17 Issue 1, p31-37. 7p. 1. INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITION In an era of fake news, it is increasingly important for citizens to understand figures presented in newspapers, on the internet and elsewhere. This importance is commonly emphasised, however, concrete projects on how to better understand figures and their origin, in other words statistical literacy, are not always available and the specific role that statistical offices should play in this field is not yet established. In this paper, recent and joint efforts on statistical literacy within the European Statistical System (ESS) and in Eurostat are described. The paper begins with a short introduction to define the term and the target groups that the products and projects aim at. There is not always unity when it comes to a definition of statistical literacy. Additionally, the fact that “…what it means to be statistically literate is also changing”2 adds to the difficulty of a uniform definition of statistical literacy for official statistics. However, a general definition for a changing society could be formulated as: Statistical literacy is the ability to understand statistics and to be able to draw conclusions from them. Statistical literacy products may simultaneously use texts, numbers and visualisations to communicate messages in an easy and understandable way. For the presented projects the identified target groups are: Students with some knowledge of statistics, Pupils and teachers in upper secondary education, Anyone else with little or no knowledge about statistics. 2. LITERACY PROJECTS IN THE ESS The European Statistical System systematically invests in the area of statistical literacy under the ESS Vision 2020 project Digital communication, User analytics and Innovative products (DIGICOM) running from 2016 to 2019. DIGICOM aims to modernise the communication and dissemination of European statistics. This is achieved by exploring and developing innovative dissemination products and services based on experiences within the ESS and concrete needs of European statistics users. DIGICOM consists of four parallel work packages dealing with (1) user analysis, (2) innovative and sharable products and tools, (3) open data dissemination and (4) communication and promotion. Projects in the area of statistical literacy are included in the last work package on communication and promotion. As a first step, experts from several National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) have developed an inventory that describes existing literacy practices in the ESS. This inventory was shared among all ESS members to provide inspiration and facilitate future collaboration and sharing in this area. 2 Wild, Chris: Statistical literacy as the earth moves. Statistics Education Research Journal, May 2017, Vol. 17 Issue 1, p31-37. 7p. Through this, numerous important statistical literacy products and activities for official statistics in the ESS could be identified. Two priority areas were selected which are described below in more detail: The engagement with schools and the educational sector, and The development of e-learning tool(s) and games. The DIGICOM work package experts discussed the best way to engage with schools and the educational system on how to find a project which is fun and playful in order for pupils and teachers to join. It was concluded that a competition with suitable incentives would be a good practice to engage with young people. This would allow the participating national offices to deepen their relations with schools or to gain access to the educational sector. Some national statistical offices in the Member States already have close ties with the national educational system, while other offices do not. As a result, the 1st European statistical competition (ESC) was implemented. The project follows best practices from previous national statistical competitions of INE Spain and other statistical institutes. The preparation work for the ESC was started in 2017 and was launched at the beginning of 2018 in 11 participating countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain). It was held in two phases for two age categories (14-16 years old and 16-18 years old). The first phase was a national competition, carried out in collaboration with partnering schools and teachers. It comprised an online test about basic knowledge of statistical concepts and also an in-depth assignment, generally an analysis of a dataset where students had to show their ability to find information on national and European websites and publications. Depending on the age category, the difficulty of the assignment was adjusted. In the second, European, phase of the competition, the winning teams were invited to reflect upon the importance of official statistics with a more creative approach. The top 180 students (in 63 teams) qualified to represent their countries in the final European round produced a short video on why official statistics matter. To evaluate the videos, a high-level jury of acclaimed experts within communication, media literacy, fact-checking and data visualisation was set up, most of them working outside statistical organisations. The winners of the ESC, Toivasnik and Pakila9D, were announced during an award ceremony at the Q2018 conference on official statistics and were shown to a wide audience.3 The joint effort of this competition was an overall success and its objectives have been fully achieved. Already the number of students and teacher reached via this project shows its significance: over 11 000 students aged 14-18 and 1 000 teachers took part in the competition. In addition, the ESC is a good way to engage with students and teachers in order to gain more insight about the statistical knowledge of this age group and to better understand teachers' needs. Finally, the videos produced provide a fresh view on official statistics and have themselves the potential to serve as vehicles for statistical literacy. Given its success, Eurostat and the European Statistical System decided to build upon it and the ESC 2019 is already being planned, with even more participating NSIs. 3 The top five for each age category have been published on the competition's website. 5 In the area of the development of e-learning tools there are already numerous products from different sources online, however few are from official, trusted sources. At ESS level this was found as another priority area, which could also serve the educational sector at university level, as professors and academics mainly produce their own e-learning tools and there is no ‘official’ material available for them to use. Some NSIs have already produced good practices and modern e-learning products. Among them, the e- learning modules of Destatis (the Federal Statistical Office of Germany) were identified to be easily deployed also within other countries. Thus, modules dealing with basic statistical concepts like means and averages, the development of indicators, data collection methods, data protection, quality of statistical processes and products, main errors in dealing with statistics, etc. are currently being translated and adjusted to address also users at a European level. The first modules are expected to be ready in the autumn 2018. Gamification products is another area that the DIGICOM project has on its agenda. The objective is to make use of this playful approach to motivate and attract students in an interactive way. Over the last two years
Load more

Recommended publications
  • AMSTATNEWS the Membership Magazine of the American Statistical Association •
    January 2015 • Issue #451 AMSTATNEWS The Membership Magazine of the American Statistical Association • http://magazine.amstat.org AN UPDATE to the American Community Survey Program ALSO: Guidelines for Undergraduate Programs in Statistical Science Updated Meet Brian Moyer, Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis AMSTATNEWS JANUARY 2015 • ISSUE #451 Executive Director Ron Wasserstein: [email protected] Associate Executive Director and Director of Operations Stephen Porzio: [email protected] features Director of Science Policy 3 President’s Corner Steve Pierson: [email protected] 5 Highlights of the November 2014 ASA Board of Directors Director of Education Meeting Rebecca Nichols: [email protected] 7 ASA Leaders Reminisce: Meet ASA Past President Managing Editor Megan Murphy: [email protected] Marie Davidian Production Coordinators/Graphic Designers 11 Benefits of the New All-Member Forum Sara Davidson: [email protected] Megan Ruyle: [email protected] 12 ASA, STATS.org Partner to Help Raise Media Statistical Literacy Publications Coordinator 13 White House Issues Policy Directive Bolstering Federal Val Nirala: [email protected] Statistical Agencies Advertising Manager 14 An Update to the American Community Survey Program Claudine Donovan: [email protected] 17 CHANCE Highlights: Special Issue Devoted to Women in Contributing Staff Members Statistics Jeff Myers • Amy Farris • Alison Smith 18 JQAS Highlights: Football, Golf, Soccer, Fly-Fishing Featured Amstat News welcomes news items and letters from readers on matters in December Issue of interest to the association and the profession. Address correspondence to Managing Editor, Amstat News, American Statistical Association, 732 North Washington Street, Alexandria VA 22314-1943 USA, or email amstat@ 19 NISS Meeting Addresses Transition amstat.org.
    [Show full text]
  • Developing Statistical Literacy in Mathematics Education?
    Iddo GAL, Haifa Developing statistical literacy in mathematics education? Navigating between current gaps and new needs and contents Abstract: This paper summarizes selected points raised during my plenary talk, which examined challenges facing the promotion of statistical literacy and statistical ideas within mathematics education, and pointed to some new developments related to statistical literacy. The paper focuses on one of these new developments, i.e., ideas regarding the knowledge and skills related to engaging with "civic statistics", based on work by ProCivicStat project, and on some implications. Introduction: About statistical literacy The place of statistics education within mathematics education has been problematic for many years, and continues to challenge mathematics educators and mathematicians, as well as school systems. This is despite the fact that "Data and Chance," "Statistics and Probability," or "Stochastics" are a major sub-area in the mathematics curriculum in all western countries. Within the domain of statistics education, teaching for the development of statistical literacy has a special place. Statistical literacy is a construct related to adult numeracy (Gal, 1997) and mathematical literacy, but goes beyond them. It refers to comprehension of and engagement with statistical messages that may appear in the media, at work, and other contexts. Statistical Literacy has been defined in several ways in the literature (Haack, 1979). My own definition (Gal, 2002) reads: “The motivation and ability to access, understand, interpret, critically evaluate, and if relevant express opinions, regarding statistical messages, data-related arguments, or issues involving uncertainty and risk” The definition above implies that statistical literacy is part of a larger family of "literacies" or competencies that all adults are expected to possess, including not only numeracy but also scientific literacy, financial literacy, health literacy, and more.
    [Show full text]
  • Adult Literacy Programs of the Future
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 317 976 CS 010 024 AUTHOR Powell, William R. TITLE Adult Literacy Programs of the Future. PUB DATE May 90 NOTE 23p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Reading AssociatIon (35th, Atlanta, GA, May 6-11, 1990). PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150) -- Viewpoints (120) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adult Basic Eduilation; *Adult Literacy; Educational Policy; Functiclal Literacy; *Futures (of Society); *Government Role; *Literacy; World Problems ABSTRACT The retention factor of literacy must be the target variable in any projection of literacy programs of the future. Further, the success of literacy programs of the future is contingent upon the resolution of three major problem areas:(1) the concept of literacy;(2) the programs of literacy; and (3) the politics of literacy. A concept of literacy is needed for the stabilization of what precisely constitutes literacy. A concept provides a more enduring description, definitions do riot. The central issue is: When is an individual permanently literate, now and forever? The adult literacy efforts of the past have been piece-meal, haphazard, and spasmodic at best. This is not to belittle the remarkable attempts, but only to admit the obvious. The fact that the level of basic literacy is attainable for nearly 100% of any population in any culture in any sovereign country does not speak well for the governing groups which are responsible for education. Governmental commitment, professional involvement, and "turfism" will have to change to enhance the future of adult literacy programs. (One figure is included; 18 references are attached.) (RS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Kinds of Statistical Literacy: What Should We Teach?
    ICOTS6, 2002: Schield THREE KINDS OF STATISTICAL LITERACY: WHAT SHOULD WE TEACH? Milo Schield Augsburg College Minneapolis USA Statistical literacy is analyzed from three different approaches: chance-based, fallacy-based and correlation-based. The three perspectives are evaluated in relation to the needs of employees, consumers, and citizens. A list of the top 35 statistically based trade books in the US is developed and used as a standard for what materials statistically literate people should be able to understand. The utility of each perspective is evaluated by reference to the best sellers within each category. Recommendations are made for what content should be included in pre-college and college statistical literacy textbooks from each kind of statistical literacy. STATISTICAL LITERACY Statistical literacy is a new term and both words (statistical and literacy) are ambiguous. In today’s society literacy means functional literacy: the ability to review, interpret, analyze and evaluate written materials (and to detect errors and flaws therein). Anyone who lacks this type of literacy is functionally illiterate as a productive worker, an informed consumer or a responsible citizen. Functional illiteracy is a modern extension of literal literacy: the ability to read and comprehend written materials. Statistics have two functions depending on whether the data is obtained from a random sample. If a statistic is not from a random sample then one can only do descriptive statistics and statistical modeling even if the data is the entire population. If a statistic is from a random sample then one can also do inferential statistics: sampling distributions, confidence intervals and hypothesis tests.
    [Show full text]
  • Virginia Mathematics Teacher
    Virginia Mathematics Teacher Volume 37, No. 2 Spring, 2011 The Five Platonic Solids A Resource Journal for Mathematics Teachers at all Levels. Virginia MatheMatics teacher Volume 37, No. 2 Spring, 2011 The VIRGINIA MATHEMATICS TABLE OF CONTENTS TEACHER (VMT) is published twice yearly by the Virginia Council of Teach- Grade Levels Titles and Authors ................................................................. Turn to Page ers of Mathematics. Non-profit organizations are granted permission to reprint articles appearing in the VMT provided that one copy of the General President’s Message ..........................................................................1 publication in which the material is reprinted is sent to the Editor and (Beth Williams) the VMT is cited as the original source. EDITORIAL STAFF General Statistical Outreach and the Census: A Summer David Albig, Editor, Learning Experience. ..........................................................................2 e-mail: [email protected] (Gail Englert) Radford University Editorial Panel General Teaching Time Savers: Reviewing Homework....................................3 Bobbye Hoffman Bartels, Christopher Newport University; (Jane M. Wilburne) David Fama, Germana Community College; Jackie Getgood, Spotsylvania County Mathematics Supervisor; Sherry Pugh, Southwest VA Governor’s School; General Enlivening School Mathematics Through the History Wendy Hageman-Smith, Longwood University; of Mathematics ...................................................................................4
    [Show full text]
  • Teaching Statistics with a Critical Pedagogy
    TEACHING STATISTICS WITH A CRITICAL PEDAGOGY A Dissertation by TONI DIMELLA Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies at Appalachian State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION August 2019 Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Reich College of Education TEACHING STATISTICS WITH A CRITICAL PEDAGOGY A Dissertation by TONI DIMELLA August 2019 APPROVED BY: Tracy Goodson-Epsy, Ed.D Chairperson, Dissertation Committee Lisa Poling, Ph.D Member, Dissertation Committee Tracie Salinas, Ph.D Member, Dissertation Committee Vachel Miller, Ed.D Director, Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Mike McKenzie, Ph.D. Dean, Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies Copyright by Toni DiMella 2019 All Rights Reserved Abstract TEACHING STATISTICS WITH A CRITICAL PEDAGOGY Toni DiMella A.A.S., SUNY Sullivan B.A., Mount Saint Mary College M.S.Ed., Mount Saint Mary College Ed.S., Appalachian State University Ed.D., Appalachian State University Dissertation Committee Chairperson: Dr. Tracy Goodson-Epsy After President Obama shifted the country’s focus from K-12 towards higher education, post-secondary schools found themselves under significant public, financial, and political pressure. To close the achievement gap and meet new standards of accountability, higher education institutions began looking for methods to increase student access and success. With a growing emphasis on degree completion and quantitative literacy, some researchers began to explore the use of critical pedagogies to better serve a more diverse population (Ukpokodu, 2011). This quantitative study measured the effectiveness of implementing a critical statistics pedagogy in an undergraduate introductory statistics classroom and its impact on course success, persistence, and mathematical empowerment.
    [Show full text]
  • Deficits in the Statistical and Probabilistic Literacy of Citizens
    mathematics Article Deficits in the Statistical and Probabilistic Literacy of Citizens: Effects in a World in Crisis Laura Muñiz-Rodríguez 1 , Luis J. Rodríguez-Muñiz 1,* and Ángel Alsina 2 1 Department of Statistics and O.R. and Mathematics Education, Faculty of Geology, University of Oviedo, Calle Jesús Arias de Velasco, s/n, 33005 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain; [email protected] 2 Department of Subject-Specific Education, Faculty of Education, University of Girona, Plaça Sant Domènec, 9, 17004 Girona, Catalonia, Spain; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 30 September 2020; Accepted: 15 October 2020; Published: 29 October 2020 Abstract: The emergency caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has revealed significant deficiencies in citizens’ statistical and probabilistic knowledge and in people’s understanding of mathematical and, particularly, stochastic models, which may lead to wrong personal or institutional choices, with critical consequences for the entire population. Mathematics teachers play an essential role in ensuring citizens’ statistical and probabilistic literacy. This study aimed at analyzing the pedagogical content knowledge that teachers utilized to teach statistics and probability through considering contextualized situations. In order to accomplish this purpose, fourteen secondary mathematics teachers participated in a formative and evaluative activity that was designed using the transformational professional competence model. During each evaluative phase, a group discussion was conducted. Participants were asked to reflect on their actions when promoting statistical and probabilistic literacy by considering a range of topics (data science, didactic resources, and methodological approaches) that were addressed during the training phase. A mixed, quantitative–qualitative methodological design was used for the data collection and analysis, which involved open-ended, multiple-choice, or scale-type questions that were moderated by the Metaplan® approach and the Mentimeter® software.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploration of Problem Solving Processes of Students with Learning Disabilities
    ICOTS9 (2014) Contributed Paper Mocko & Crow EXPLORATION OF PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESSES OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES Megan Mocko and Melissa Crow Department of Statistics, University of Florida, USA [email protected], [email protected] Students with learning disabilities (LD) comprise an increasing portion of the university population. These students often face a disproportionate host of educational and attitudinal challenges, including dysgraphia, ADHD, reading comprehension issues, problems with information retention, and learned helplessness. Current instructional practices may not address obstacles faced by these students. In this study, students with LD will verbalize their thought processes and strategies as they work through a confidence interval word problem. We first identify several primary obstacles to student success. We also explore students’ response patterns and their attempts to use aids to overcome obstacles. By gaining an improved understanding of how learning disabilities affect students’ efforts toward statistical problem solving, we hope to develop more effective methods to sustain statistical literacy for their long term success. PURPOSE The percentage of students with registered learning disabilities in college increased from only 0.5% in 1983 to 2.8% in 2004 (Pryor, 2007). It seems safe to assume that more students with learning disabilities on college campuses will lead to more students with learning disabilities enrolled in introductory statistics courses. These students may experience disproportionate challenges in problem solving. In order to further explore the issues faced by these students, an exploratory investigation was conducted through clinical interviews. BACKGROUND Statistical problem solving involves a complex interplay of statistical literacy, reasoning, and thinking—three ideas which have featured prominently in statistics education research over the last two decades (c.f.
    [Show full text]
  • IASE Review 2004 3 3
    REVIEW December 2004 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR STATISTICAL EDUCATION http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/ 1. IASE Executive 2003-2005 2 2. Inside IASE Review 2004 3 3. Education Is Everybody’s Responsibility by Chris Wild 3 4. Statistics And Statistics Education In China by Yuan Wei 4 5. Memories of Lund by Anthony Harradine and Rob Gould 5 6. Overview of the 2004 IASE Roundtable: Curricular Development in Statistics 7 Education by Gail Burrill 7. Report of the “Curriculum: Content and Framing” Working Group by Andy Begg, 10 Timothy Erickson, Helen MacGillivray and Timothy Matis 8. IASE Sponsored Sessions at The Joint Statistical Meetings by Carol Joyce 13 Blumberg 9. Statistics Education at ICME-10 by Joe Wisenbaker 13 10. IASE Satellite Conferences by Brian Phillips 14 11. IASE Activities at the 55th Session of the International Statistical Institute 15 by Chris Wild 12. Getting Excited About ICOTS 7 by Carmen Batanero 17 13. Statistics Education Research Journal (SERJ) by Iddo Gal 19 14. Update on Other IASE Publications by Carol Joyce Blumberg 20 15. 2004 Update on the International Statistical Literacy Project (ISLP) 21 by Carol Joyce Blumberg 16. Meetings related to Statistics Education in 2004 22 17. National Correspondents 23 18. Becoming a Member of IASE 23 Editor: Chris Wild, Department of Statistics, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand, Email: [email protected] IASE Review, November, 2003 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. IASE Executive 2003-2005 From left to right: Lisbeth Cordani, Chris Wild, Carmen Batanero, Chris Reading, Carol J. Blumberg, Larry Weldon, Gilberte Schuyten, Susan Starkings.
    [Show full text]
  • Approaches to Building Big Data Literacy
    Approaches to Building Big Data Literacy Catherine D’Ignazio Rahul Bhargava Emerson Engagement Lab MIT Center for Civic Media 160 Boylston St. (4th floor) 20 Ames St. Boston, MA 02116, USA Cambridge, MA 02142, USA [email protected] [email protected] ABSTRACT mental data [26]. And the recent Snowden Affair [2] led to Big Data projects are being rapidly embraced by organiza- widespread discussion of the perils of Big Data in regard to tions working in the social good sector. This has led to a pro- compromising privacy and surveillance [5]. liferation of new projects, with strong criticisms in response Policy-makers and researchers are working on addressing focusing on the disempowering aspects of these projects. these critiques. Argentina and the European Union, for ex- This paper identifies four main problematic aspects of Big ample, have passed "Right to be Forgotten" laws which grant Data projects in the social good sector to focus on: lack of digital users more control over the retention of their data transparency, extractive collection, technological complexity, [9]. Lawmakers in California and the UK have special pro- and control of impact. Leveraging Paulo Freire’s concept visions for minors regarding personal data [33]. Technical of "Popular Education", we identify an opportunity to work solutions are being built to provide better anonymization on these issues in empowering ways through literacy educa- and finer-grained control of personal data [18]. And visual- tion. We discuss existing definitions of data literacy and find ization projects such as Mozilla Lightbeam [3], Immersion a need to create an extended definition of Big Data literacy.
    [Show full text]
  • A Short Course for Adults
    Section on Statistical Education – JSM 2010 Numbers in Everyday Life: A Short Course for Adults Gerald J. Hahn1, Necip Doganaksoy2, Ricki Lewis3, Jane E. Oppenlander4, Josef Schmee5 1GE Global Research, (Retired) Manager-Applied Statistics 2GE Global Research, Principal Technologist-Statistician 3Geneticist and Science Writer 4Adjunct Professor, Union Graduate College 5Professor Emeritus, Union Graduate College Abstract We recently developed and gave a five-session course on Numbers in Everyday Life at the Union College Academy for Lifelong Learning. We describe how we put the course together, what we presented, and how things worked out. Copies of most of our presentation slides and other materials can be accessed via a cited Web site. Key Words: Communications, introductory statistics course, statistical literacy, statistics for consumers, teaching statistics. 1. Introduction Statistical literacy has been defined by Katherine Wallman as “the ability to understand and critically evaluate statistical results that permeate our daily lives.” On a more technical level, Schield (2010) defines “Statistical literacy is the ability to read and interpret summary statistics in the everyday media: in graphs, tables, statements, surveys and studies.” Building a statistically literate community is one of our profession’s major responsibilities and challenges, as emphasized by numerous ASA presidents, including Bob Mason, Richard Scheaffer, and Katherine Wallman. David Moore, another ASA president, distinguishes statistical literacy—“what every educated person should know about statistical thinking”—from statistical competence—“roughly the content of a first course for those who must deal with data in their work.” The need to build statistical literacy is also reflected in the ASA strategic plan, with an objective to “stimulate public awareness of the role of statistics and statisticians in issues that affect public life.” Many, including Debora J.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards a Framework for a Critical Statistical Literacy in High School Mathematics
    Statistics and Probability 984 TOWARDS A FRAMEWORK FOR A CRITICAL STATISTICAL LITERACY IN HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS Travis Weiland University of Massachusetts Dartmouth [email protected] In the spirit of questioning, crossing, and blurring disciplinary borders with(in) mathematics education, this paper proposes a theoretical framework that merges conceptions of critical literacy and statistical literacy for high school mathematics curriculum. I begin by discussing the political nature of education and then situate this work within the goals of education for active citizenship. Next, I provide a detailed background of both critical and statistical literacy from multiple educational research perspectives. Lastly, by synthesizing notions of critical and statistical literacy, I present a theoretical framework for a critical statistical literacy in the context of high school mathematics curriculum. Keywords: Data Analysis and Statistics, High School Education, Equity and Diversity Introduction In modern society, which is drenched in data (Steen, 2001), individuals need to be statistically literate (Gal, 2004). There has been an explosion of data in every facet of life including medicine, economics, education, and public opinion, just to name a few (Ben-Zvi & Garfield, 2008). As a result statistical literacy is becoming a crucial literacy for being a citizen in today’s modern societies. As Franklin et al. (2007) states, “every high school graduate should be able to use sound statistical reasoning to intelligently cope with the requirements of citizenship” (p.1). However, it is important for citizenship education that this literacy goes beyond the tradition 'consumption and production' conception of statistical literacy (Ben-Zvi & Garfield, 2004; Franklin et al., 2007; Gal, 2004) to include fostering sociopolitical awareness and critique.
    [Show full text]