Students Learn Even Statistics Can Be Fun

Jefferson students enthusiastically create posters from survey data

By Anthony Kuipers, Moscow-Pullman Daily News staff writer

This article appears courtesy of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

What’s your favorite animal? What technology would you like to see in the classroom? These were the type of inquiries posed on colorful posters lining the walls of Jefferson Elementary this week. Also filling the posters were graphs, charts, and numbers that represented the data collected when Jefferson third- and fourth-graders asked those questions of fellow students.

The students surveyed their peers about a question of their choice, and then analyzed the data to make conclusions about their findings. Washington State University provided the poster materials.

Dean Johnson, WSU math professor, said the project aims to “generate some excitement” about math and statistics while introducing students to methods of collecting and summarizing data.

He was joined by fellow WSU math professor Xueying Wang, who said the project helped students learn how surveys can broaden their view of what others think about certain issues.

“You see things from another perspective,” she said.

As a bonus, the students were given awards Wednesday during an assembly for their work.

Third-grader Megan Limburg won first prize—a pass to Palouse Discovery Science Center and a math-related storybook—for her poster.

She spent a week surveying 30 of her peers on what playground equipment they liked the most. The top choice was the painted area on the playground designated for the popular game of four square.

From that data, she, like her classmates, used an online program to create a pie chart and tables of the results. The hardest aspect, she said, was making sure the graphs stood out.

“I had to see what looked good and what colors fit together,” she said.

Her favorite part of the process was going out to recess with her friends to survey students. She thought her chances of winning the competition were 50-50.

“I thought I might win, but there was a good chance I might not win,” she said.

Limburg said she was “really happy” and “excited” when Johnson called out her name during the assembly.

Johnson said her poster best followed the scoring rubric used by the American Statistical Association’s national statistics poster contest. They looked for posters that were eye-catching and creative, used graphs correctly, and were easy to understand. Students also received points for writing out their process for gathering the data, as well as their conclusions.

Third-grade teacher Elaine Kelly said Limburg’s poster also stood out because she gave a recommendation based on her data, as any good statistician would.

“The data’s collected for the purpose to improve our world,” she said.

That recommendation, of course, was for the school to paint more four squares.

Other students asked about favorite books, pets, and sports. The majority of students said they wanted to see more iPads and other tablets when asked what technology they wanted in their classrooms.

Some even delved into more complicated issues. One asked students about thoughts on health care spending, while another asked what they knew about endangered species.

Johnson said some of the Jefferson posters will be submitted in the national competition, where they could win money and a plaque for their school.

During the assembly, the students responded with a resounding “Yes!” when Johnson asked if they wanted to do the project again next year. He said it was encouraging to see them so enthusiastic about being young statisticians.

“At this age, it’s nice to see,” he said.