Students, Teachers, Community Pull Off Successful Poster Competition

H. Dean Johnson, Washington State University

In April, I had the pleasure of holding a statistics poster competition for third- and fourth-graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Pullman, Washington. Representing and interpreting data are part of the third and fourth grades common core curriculum in Washington. My goal in organizing the poster competition was to generate excitement about statistics in young children. An article about the competition appeared in the local Pullman newspaper, along with a couple of pictures taken.

From the article and picture, one can see that the event was a success. As I reflect on the event, it was the enthusiasm of the community, the teachers, and, of course, the third- and fourth-grade students that made the competition such a success.

Prizes were provided by Palouse Discovery Science Center, Pullman Aquatic Center, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, the Washington State University Mathematics Department, and Zeppos Bowling Alley. They included the following:

• Math-related books and puzzles provided by the Washington State University Mathematics Department
• Bowling gift cards
• Certificates for a free visit to the Palouse Discovery Science Center
• Certificates for a free visit to the Pullman Aquatic Center
• Certificates of participation printed by Schweitzer Engineering

Without the help of the third- and fourth-grade teachers, the competition wouldn’t have been so successful. They met with me on several occasions after school hours to work out the details of the competition and fitting the poster competition into the students’ already full curriculum.

With the main purpose of the competition being to generate enthusiasm for statistics, I was delighted to see the school was buzzing with excitement on the day of the awards ceremony. One student who was walking down the hall even stopped me to proudly show his poster to me. And a student from the school newspaper asked me if he could interview me about the competition. When I asked students what they enjoyed most, the hands of 30–40 students enthusiastically went up.

The other day, I ran into a poster competition participant at the grocery store and she spoke with me for about 10 minutes, expressing how much she enjoyed the event. With the success enjoyed this year, I look forward to holding another poster competition in the future.