Fourth Meeting Within a Meeting held in conjunction with JSM in Vancouver, BC
Katherine Halvorsen, MWM Program Chair, and Rebecca Nichols, ASA K–16 Education Manager
The American Statistical Association and Statistical Society of Canada (SSC) jointly sponsored the fourth annual Meeting Within a Meeting (MWM) Statistics Workshop for Mathematics and Science Teachers that was held August 4–5 concurrently with the 2010 Joint Statistical Meetings in Vancouver, BC. Canadian and U.S. middle- and high-school teachers attended workshop sessions on August 4 and received passes to attend JSM sessions on August 5. The ASA and SSC will provide follow-up activities throughout the 2010–2011 school year.
The primary goals of the MWM 2010 program were to introduce middle- and high-school teachers who teach math and science courses to the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) Report: A Pre-K–12 Curriculum Framework and provide an opportunity for these teachers to discuss and apply the data analysis and statistical concepts embodied in the GAISE framework.
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. The follow-up program will include email contact with participants, new webinars, and an archive of previous webinars.
“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 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, ASA director of education, 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.
“The 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,” said Katherine Halvorsen, MWM program chair. “The MWM program includes examining what students can be expected to do at the most basic level of understanding and what can be expected of them as their skill develops and their experience broadens.”
MWM 2010 began with SSC President Don McLeish, ASA President Sastry Pantula, Wasserstein, Halvorsen, and Aliaga welcoming the teachers. SSC past president, Bovas Abraham, and ASA president-elect-elect, Bob Rodriquez, also greeted the teachers. Kevin Keen of the University of Northern British Columbia provided an overview of the statistics standards for middle and high school prescribed by the Western and Northern Canadian Protocol Curriculum, and Patrick Hopfensperger of Homestead High School discussed the GAISE framework.
Hopfensperger also discussed planning statistics lessons and assessing student progress during a morning session, while Christine Franklin of the University of Georgia discussed univariate analysis of measurement data with a focus on understanding measures of center and spread.
The afternoon sessions were taught by Bill Finzer of KCP Technologies, Halvorsen, and Megan Mocko of the University of Florida. Finzer taught how to explore Census at School data from around the world with Fathom software and teach statistical problemsolving in the context of Canadian, U.S., and international Census at School data. Halvorsen discussed formulating statistical questions and exploring statistical questions through projects, and Mocko informed participants about the ASA Project Competition. The day ended with participants reflecting on the day’s activities and filling out evaluations.
Teachers who stayed for the second day of the program used their complimentary pass to attend statistics education sessions at JSM, including “Initiatives to Create Guidelines for Statistics Education to Prepare Future Generations to Function Effectively in a Data-Centric World: A Progress Report,” organized by the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability.
All teachers attending MWM were given a certificate of participation from the ASA and SSC. Teachers also may register to receive 0.5 semester graduate credit hours through Adams State College for attending the Wednesday workshop.
MWM 2011 will take place in Miami Beach, Florida, jointly with JSM. K–12 mathematics and science teachers interested in enhancing their understanding and teaching of statistics within their curricula should register in March. Questions may be directed to Rebecca Nichols, ASA K–16 education manager, at rebecca@amstat.org or (703) 684-1221, Ext. 1877.
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