The Rocky Road to Statistical Literacy

The Rocky Road to Statistical Literacy

What is Statistical Literacy? ability to: – understand, interpret statistical data – critically evaluate statistical information and data-related arguments – to use the information in context of daily life – to discuss or communicate one’s reactions.

Does it matter?

Canadian Statistics Table Most popular sports1 1998 Total Male thousands % thousands % Population aged 24,260 15 years and older11,937 Golf Hockey(ice) Baseball Swimming Basketball Volleyball Soccer 1,802 1,499 1,339 1,120 787 744 739 7.4 6.2 5.5 4.6 3.2 3.1 3 1,325 1,435 953 432 550 394 550 1. Persons frequently play more than one sport. Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 1998. 11.1 12 8 3.6 4.6 3.3 4.6 Female thousands % 12,323 476 65 386 688 237 350 189 3.9 0.5 3.1 5.6 1.9 2.8 1.5

Recent article: SFU to revamp curriculum to improve students’ writing skills “ its graduates don’t always have the writing skills, competency with numbers or breadth of knowledge that are needed in the workplace .” Janet Steffenhagen The Vancouver Sun

SFU will overhaul its undergraduate program: “What we wish is that our students have a facility in quantitative reasoning, the ability to communicate effectively in writing and some breadth of exposure to subject areas of a liberal arts university” John Waterhouse Academic Vice-President, SFU

“all graduates should be ‘good consumers of quantitative information’ they ought to be able to understand statistics [be able to] .read a report that contains statistical analysis. They ought to be familiar with the logic that goes along with quantitative analysis even though they may never be mathematicians or statisticians.” John Waterhouse The Vancouver Sun Nov 25, 2002

Research on literacy The situation in Canada

International Adult Literacy Survey Statistics Canada and OECD 20 nations measured on 3 scales: – prose, document, quantitative ‘Literacy in the Information Age’ June 2000

Literacy levels Level 1: very poor skills Level 2: can deal only with simple, clearly laid out text Level 3: suitable minimum skill level for coping with demands of everyday life. Roughly the level required for secondary school completion and college entry Levels 4 and 5: higher-order information processing skills

Three types of literacy skills Prose literacy - knowledge and skills needed to understand and use text information Document literacy - able to locate and use information in various formats Quantitative literacy - can apply arithmetic operations to numbers embedded in printed materials

Prose Literacy Understand and use editorials, news stories, brochures, instruction manuals Percent Prose Literacy, Canada, 1994 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 35.1 25.6 22.7 16.6 42.2% Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 1 lowest / Level 5 highest Level 4/5

Document Literacy Job applications, payroll forms, transportation schedules, maps, tables and charts Document Literacy, Canada, 1994 32.1 35 30 Percent 20 25.1 24.7 25 18.2 15 10 5 0 42.9% Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 1 lowest / Level 5 highest Level 4/5

Quantitative Literacy Balancing a chequebook, figuring out a tip, completing order form, determining amount of interest on a loan Percent Quantitative Literacy, Canada, 1994 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 34.8 26.1 22.2 16.9 43% Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 1 lowest / Level 5 highest Level 4/5

Literacy, Canada, 1994 Prose / Document / Quantitative 40 35 30 25 Percent 20 15 10 Levels 1&2 5 0 42.4% 42.9% 43.0% Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 45 Level 1 lowest / Level 5 higest

Statistical Literacy Combines document and quantitative literacy: – ability to locate and use information in various formats: schedules, tables, charts – knowledge and skills to apply arithmetic operations, either alone or sequentially.

Some examples What’s happening in classrooms

Examples from the classroom 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Elementary Data Management Creativity in Grade 10 Math Data use in Business Class Using E-STAT for Marketing Social Issues in Math Class Using data in Debating

Data Management in Elementary Dr. David Mandzuk, University of Manitoba Displaying, analyzing and interpreting numerical information — one math strand least effectively taught in elementary Use Canadian information in teaching math Uses the booklet Canada at a Glance with Grade 5 and 6 classes

Canada at a Glance Combines Math, Social Studies, & educational technology Uses Demographics section: pop. by prov/terr, major urban areas, marital status, age groups, ethnic origin, etc. First: teaches graph types: pie, line, bar

Preparation Teaches purpose and organization of booklet Interprets appropriate tables so that students understand the information In computer lab, teaches how to enter data on spreadsheet Students prepare a series of graphs following a contract or question sheet

Student results Learn how to manage data Consider best graphs for display of data Produce appropriate graphs Show they understand the graphs by answering the contract or question sheet

Major challenges Diverse ability among students Computer availability Need to troubleshoot. Students need to be taught how to deal with data entry errors, double checking, what to do when graph doesn’t reflect the data.

Creativity in Math Tom Steinke, Marie Brazeau, Joel Yan Grade 10 Academic Math students Objective: to model data relationships using quadratic and linear functions Math can: – apply to the real world – help model past behaviour – predict future trends

Creativity in Math Students learned about linear and quadratic functions Learned how to use Dynamic Statistics Software from Fathom Introduced to STC website Selected topics of interest and looked for supporting data on website Incentive: contest for most creative analysis and results

Creativity in Math Each student provided: – reasons for choosing their issue – their hypothesis – the data used – results of data modelling: mathematical relationships and equations describing those relationships – predictions of future trends – conclusions and questions for further analysis

Creativity in Math Some topics chosen: – college enrollment and employment data – motor vehicle deaths vs. seatbelt use – youth employment vs. youth crime (does employment decrease incidence of crime?)

Creativity in Math Winning project #1: – Relationship between women with full-time jobs and the incidence of childbirth in Canada, 1976 - 1999. Hypothesis was that increase of women working full time would result in a decrease of birth rates – Also found that the baby boom echo could be closely modeled by a parabola

Creativity in Math Winning project #2: – Relationship between annual beer production, consumption per capita and percent of population males 20 -24 Conclusion: there is a correlation between average beer consumption and percentage of males age 20-24 – Correlation did not hold true with % of males in other age cohorts

Creativity in Math Winning project #3: – Hockey statistics were used to examine performance of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne of the Mighty Ducks – Conclusion: each player performed better when they played together than when apart – Conclusion: career hockey statistics can be modeled by a parabola reflecting development, peaking and decline of skills

Creativity in Math The teacher’s observations: – students who normally performed poorly in a traditional classroom did better in this project oriented environment – these students were understanding concepts and methods faster, and sometimes better than the best students – students were very motivated.

Using data in Business Class Donna Brunton, Newport, N.S. Data Processing 12 Students build website for fictional business Must show that the business will be successful by using data, eg. unemployment rate, household income, education levels, sex/age, etc. Create graphs with E-STAT and spreadsheets.

Using E-STAT in Business Class Biki Kochhar, Coquitlam, B.C. Marketing 11 and 12: Market Segmentation Divide population by demographic characteristics Discuss target markets for The Gap, Banana Republic, Seattle’s Best Coffee Use E-STAT to find size of target markets Consider whether locations are appropriate and if there are opportunities for expansion

Using E-STAT in Business Class Research market for a hypothetical business Data: male/female, single people, selected mother tongue, immigrants, private households Use computer technical skills and analytical skills to interpret data Draw conclusion: Coquitlam could support a skateboard shop.

Social Issues in Math Class Geoffrey Roulet, Queen’s University Grade 12 Mathematics of Data Management Students must “carry out a culminating project on a topic or issue of significance that requires the integration and application of the expectations of the course” In preparation, students participate in a fullclass activity

Social Issues in Math Class Students: Define an issue Formulate questions Locate, extract and analyze data from E-STAT Make supported inferences and predictions from statistical measures.

Social Issues in Math Class First: Formulating the questions: “Some people claim that Canadian society is becoming increasingly dangerous and that tough new laws and punishment are required to return the country to the safer conditions of years past. – Do you agree or disagree with this view? – Is crime on the increase? – Are new laws and punishment needed?”

Social Issues in Math Class Canada: Crime vs. Year E-STAT Table 252-0001 Crimes, by actual offenses, annual (Terminated) 3,000,000 Total Criminal Code 500,000 1962 Year 1962 -1999 r .96 but 1991 - 1999 r -.98 1999

Social Issues in Math Class Incidence of crime prompts further investigation Why does the crime rate vary year to year? What causes people to commit more crime in one year than another? Frame another task for students.

Social Issues in Math Class New question: “Some people do not see “law-and-order” policies as the best way to reduce crime.there are .social and demographic factors .that might help us.reduce crime ” Identify a social or demographic factor that might be related to crime – One selected factor is poverty: using lowincome data as a proxy.

Social Issues in Math Class Canada: Crime vs. Low Income 3,000,000 Table 202-0802 - Persons with low income before and after tax Total Criminal Code 2,000,000 1,500,000 No. Low Income R .57 2,700,000

Social Issues in Math Class There is not a strong case to link low income and crime Students learn that in dealing with complex interacting social conditions easy answers do not necessarily have simple answers Another question: is there link between young adult males and crime? – Plot crime vs. males 18-24 and 25-30.

Social Issues in Math Class Canada: Crime vs. Males 18-24 3,000,000 Table 051-0001 - Estimates of population by age group and sex Total Criminal Code 1,000,000 1,410,000 No. Males 18-24 R -.18 1,770,000

Social Issues in Math Class Canada: Crime vs. Males 25-30 3,000,000 Table 051-0001 - Estimates of population by age group and sex Total Criminal Code 1,000,000 800,000 No. Males 25-30 R .78 1,320,000

Social Issues in Math Class Whole class reports their results Build on results to suggest measures that society might use to reduce crime Debate can be intense, but are reasoned and civilized because of use of data and statistical methods Math, technology and STC data combined to encourage serious rational discussion of significant social issues.

Debating with Talented & Gifted Sam Allison, Greenfield Park, Québec Weekly debates, Grade 9 Involve research, writing, speaking, listening and teamwork Avoid ‘whale debates’ Find issues that genuinely divide the class, eg. moral dilemmas

Debating with Talented & Gifted Major problem: finding Canadian evidence to add intellectual depth www.statcan.ca good site for evidence – eg. TV watching, bullying, teenage smoking Canadian rather than American trends Long term data cycles

Debating with Talented & Gifted Students learn to research and present data to support their argument They develop a facility in responding to opponent’s evidence, logic and ideas Knowledge of data or even definitions can help win a debate

Debating with Talented & Gifted Debates may be both memorable and hilarious One debate combined Canadian data on unionization and working hours with information on Santa’s elves.

The technology situation in schools

Technology issues equipment: age connectedness tech support variety of hardware/software access to equipment by the classroom teacher location: library, IT class few teachers have a computer on their desk

Internet Access: an example Surrey School District – access through: 1. PLNet (BC Ministry of Education) 2. Firewall - dynamic IP addresses behind firewall 3. MAC nanny

Teacher issues large variation in ability, interest limited time to find resources and adapt them already have a “filing cabinet full of lessons” tech-phobia stats-phobia

E-STAT Schools register, but don’t use E-STAT Takes effort to introduce and use E-STAT in the classroom – the payoff must be good for the time invested

Education Outreach Program What do we do?

The outreach program Learning resources website – pathways for Students, Teachers & Postsecondary users – lesson plans, teachers’ kits – E-STAT – recommended publications & resources Education representatives

Lines of communication Learning Resources Bulletin - e-mail – regional reps distribute to certain contacts Network Nuggets (3000) Webbits (1000) TechTalk (700) EdInfo Learning with Canadian Information Geoghist listserv – secondary and postsecondary

Major initiatives Textbook publishers Galileo Manitoba Education’s Curriculum Navigator Critical Thinking Co-operative School Libraries in Canada

“I think that by introducing students to StatsCan in social studies classes — perhaps they won’t be scared of stats courses later on in university.” From a UBC education student

Thank you