In addition to the session presenters, ASA President Sally Morton and ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein welcomed and addressed all the teachers. “One of the primary missions of the American Statistical Association is to work for the improvement of statistical education at all levels,” said Wasserstein. “We are pleased to reach out to the K–12 mathematics and science community through the MWM workshop and follow-up activities.”
Patricia Johnson, director of the Math/Science Partnership Program at the U.S. Department of Education, also spoke briefly at each MWM workshop session, and Jill Montaquila and Shail Butani of the Washington Statistical Society (WSS) spoke with the teachers about WSS quantitative literacy activities and resources. Finally, Gerry Hahn and Necip Doganaksoy spoke to the participants during lunch about the use of statistics in the workplace.
The Census Bureau Visit
Taking advantage of JSM’s location this year, the MWM program included a visit to the U.S. Census Bureau, where attendees participated in interactive presentations and activities organized by Renée Jefferson-Copeland, chief of the Census in Schools branch of the bureau. “This is an opportunity to introduce teachers to the 2010 Census, Census in Schools, and census’ data and online data access tools,” said Jefferson-Copeland. “We hope this activity will increase the public’s knowledge about the importance of the 2010 Census and the availability of census data for the nation’s school children.”
Participants also heard from Katherine Wallman, chief statistician at the Office of Management and Budget; Arnold Jackson, associate director for decennial census; and Barbara Harris, chief of the Customer Liaisons and Marketing Services Office. They attended three break-out sessions in which they discussed Census in Schools, American FactFinder resources, and census resources in the classroom and each left with a bag of resources to use in their classrooms.
The JSM Sessions
MWM participants were invited to attend JSM sessions, as well. They were especially encouraged to attend “ASA and NCTM Collaborations on a Shared Vision for the Role of Statistics in Schools,” which covered activities of the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on the Curriculum in Statistics and Probability and several major collaborative efforts between the ASA and NCTM.
The Future
The ASA and WSS will provide follow-up activities throughout the 2009–2010 school year, including webinars that will continue to be archived. MWM 2010 in Vancouver, BC, Canada, is already being planned, with registration set to open in March.
“Statistical literacy—the ability to understand, interpret, and use statistical information in every-day life—is a vital component of K–12 mathematics and science education,” said Morton. “We value the MWM workshop and follow-up activities. … I enjoyed speaking to the MWM teachers this year and look forward to next year’s MWM workshop in Vancouver.”
K–12 mathematics or science teachers who are interested in enhancing their understanding and teaching of statistics should click here for further information or address questions to Rebecca Nichols, ASA K–16 education manager, at rebecca@amstat.org or (703) 684-1221.
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