Data Management

Explaining the why in math

This past week in math we looked at data management and probability. When first hearing this unit I immediately think of estimation and using the phrases almost always or very unlikely. While this is a part of data management and probability I never really understood why would use estimation in real life. It was not until this class that it was actually explained to me. Using estimation can help us in the world because we do not always want the exact answer and we can get a good idea of how many or how likely something is to occur by estimation. Having this information presented to me made me realize that though I was completing the questions in math class I never fully knew why. The reinforcement of ensuring students know why they are completing the question and how it can be used in life was once again apparent. Being able to relate the questions to real life can gain the students interest and allow them to remember the information easier.

Data Collection

Data and how its collected and used is a major theme throughout the chapter in Making Math Meaningful was. One of the main points that was also echoed in class was ensuring that students are creating appropriate questionnaires and planning of how to gather the data. Students should not only be conducting a survey of 5 people and then displaying that information through a graph. The survey and coinciding graph should have a purpose for the student. Gathering the results and conducting a survey is only half of the expectations. Students then need to display the data in forms that are purposeful. The graphs that the students choose should help represent the information that they are trying to convey. Students should be able to look at the graph and make inferences or comparisons. The collection and display of data are a main concept in data and more time should be spent to ensure students have the proper skills and knowledge to do so.

Resources to Help Teach

Two concepts that were examined in class were stem and leaf plots and tinker plots. Both resources will help the student gather and organize data. Stem and Leaf plots are especially useful when trying to find the mean median and mode of an array of numbers. This plot orders the numbers with the first digit(s) being the stem and the last digit being the leaf. The organization of the array through this method will allow for easy estimation or the calculation of mean median and mode if necessary. The Stem and Leaf plot place all data into context. A tinker plot is useful for the organization of a large amount of data. The plot places the data on a graph and allows the students to find certain characteristics of the data easily. www.tinkerplots.com is a great resource to use to show students the different aspects that can be utilized from creating an online tinker plot. These resources will help the students collect that the data and be able to make connections with it more easily.