Statistics Workshops for Math and Science Teachers Held in Seattle
Katherine Halvorsen, MWM Program Chair, and Rebecca Nichols, ASA Director of Education
Making It Happen
Katherine Halvorsen planned the MWM program, while Rebecca Nichols—ASA director of education—managed the website, registration and evaluation procedures, and logistics of setting up and advertising the conference.
Marcia Ciol, June Morita, and the Puget Sound Chapter were helpful in spreading the word among Washington educators.
MWM 2015 presenters included ASA/NCTM committee chair Chris Franklin (University of Georgia), ASA/NCTM committee past-chair Patrick Hopfensperger (retired high-school teacher), Catherine Case (University of Florida), and MWM program chair Katherine Halvorsen (Smith College). Additionally, ASA President David Morganstein, ASA President-elect Jessica Utts, ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein, and Puget Sound Chapter members welcomed the attendees.
The Puget Sound Chapter sponsored half the registration fee for the first 20 teachers who registered for the workshop and the Biopharmaceutical Section sponsored half the registration fee for four teachers.
The Martha Aliaga MWM Scholarship—a fund in memory of Martha Aliaga, former ASA director of education who created the Meeting Within a Meeting Statistics Workshop for Math and Science Teachers—provided support for additional registration fee reimbursement to help teachers attend the workshop.
The American Statistical Association sponsored Meeting Within a Meeting (MWM)—a two-day statistics workshop for middle- and high-school mathematics and science teachers—August 11–12 at the 2015 Joint Statistical Meetings in Seattle, Washington.
This year, 35 high-school and 15 middle-school teachers, administrators, and mathematics educators attended workshops that addressed statistical concepts taught in middle and high school. MWM workshops emphasize the growth of statistical literacy and thinking as teachers explore problems that require them to formulate questions; collect, organize, analyze, and draw conclusions from data; and apply basic concepts of probability. A follow-up program is planned that will help keep the teachers who attended in contact with the ASA via webinars and email.
The primary goals of the MWM 2015 program were to introduce middle- and high-school math and science teachers to the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) Report: A Pre-K–12 Curriculum Framework and statistical content of the Common Core Mathematics Standards (adopted by most states, including Washington), as well as provide an opportunity for teachers to discuss and apply these data analysis and statistical concepts. A secondary goal was to encourage cooperation between mathematics and science teachers in the teaching of statistics.
The MWM program is designed to enhance educators’ understanding of statistics and provide them with hands-on activities they can use in their own classrooms to strengthen the teaching of statistics in their schools.
“One of the primary missions of the American Statistical Association is to work for the improvement of statistical education at all levels,” said Ron Wasserstein, the ASA’s executive director. “We are pleased to reach out to the K–12 mathematics and science community through the MWM workshop and follow-up activities,” he added. “MWM will not only enhance understanding and teaching of statistics concepts in the classroom, but also provide buy ativan participants with a network of statisticians and educators to assist in developing the quantitative literacy of their students.”
The first MWM workshop was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2007 and focused on middle-school math and science teachers. Its success led Martha Aliaga, former ASA director of education and creator of MWM, to recommend expanding the Denver MWM workshop in 2008 to a two-day format that included separate strands for K–4, 5–8, and 9–12 teachers. MWM 2009 in Washington, DC, included parallel strands for K–4, 5–8, and 9–12 teachers on the first day with a field trip to the U.S. Census Bureau on the second day. MWM 2010 in Vancouver, BC, was the first international MWM workshop jointly sponsored by the ASA and Statistical Society of Canada. It included both U.S. and Canadian presenters and participants. MWM 2011 in Miami, Florida, and MWM 2012 in San Diego, California, included separate workshops for middle- and high-school teachers focused on the statistics content in the Common Core State Standards. Additionally in 2012, MWM participants could also choose to attend the International Census at School workshop for two additional days after MWM. In 2013, MWM was held after JSM at the ASA office in Alexandria, Virginia. In 2014, MWM was held at JSM in Boston.
Each workshop day of MWM 2015 consisted of three sessions and a closing period used to reflect on the day’s work and provide comments about the program to the organizers. The workshop sessions were preceded by an overview of the GAISE report and Common Core standards relevant to the audience.
Middle-school teachers attended the workshop sessions on both Tuesday and Wednesday and participated in discussions about formulating statistical questions; univariate analysis of measurement data focusing on measures of center and spread; using random sampling, bivariate measurement data analysis, and categorical data analysis; investigating patterns in data; and free K–12 statistics education resources, including the ASA Poster Competition. The MWM program schedule is now available.
The three sessions in the high-school program on Tuesday included discussions about statistical questions and study design, investigating bivariate data, and using randomization tests to make inferences and justify conclusions. High-school teachers were given the option on Wednesday to attend the second day of the middle-school workshop (to see what should be taught before students reach high school) or attend statistics education sessions at the Joint Statistical Meetings. Some also attended the Beyond AP Statistics (BAPS) Workshop, which was held in conjunction with JSM on August 12.
All teachers attending MWM were given a certificate of participation issued by the ASA. Teachers who register may receive one semester graduate credit hour through Adams State University.
The ASA will provide follow-up activities throughout the 2015–2016 school year, including webinars that will continue to be archived. Questions should be directed to Rebecca Nichols, ASA director of education, at rebecca@amstat.org or (703) 684-1221, Ext. 1877.
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