“Does anyone have the databank for the STATLAB textbook on floppy disk for a micro-computer?”
This was a question posed in the September 1982 issue of the Statistics Teacher Network newsletter. A lot has changed since then, including—with the newest issue—the name and format. What remains the same is the emphasis on supporting statistics teachers.
STN began as a paper newsletter mailed out, and then transformed into an electronic newsletter as a PDF,” said longtime STN editor Angela Walmsley. “Now, we are really moving forward in this new dynamic web presence, which combines the content of STN and STEW lessons into one place to find all usable resources for statistics teaching.”
You can find your favorite STN content by clicking on the “Articles Archive” button on the right sidebar of Statistics Teacher.
To kick off this new era, we thought it would be fun to share a problem from the archives: STN #28 from February 1992.
The problem: “Suppose there are 7 audio tapes, each of which contains 10 songs. A tape player can be set to randomly choose songs from any of the 7 tapes and play through all the songs exactly once. What is the probability that the first 10 randomly selected songs will include at least 1 song from each of the 7 tapes?”
According to the problem statement, this was constructed by a talented high-school student.
In a later issue of STN, four people were identified as having submitted correct solutions—one of which came from ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein. Ron is available to explain to students what a tape player is!
Send your solution to st@amstat.org.
This new web presence is called Statistics Teacher (ST), and Walmsley will serve as co-editor. The online magazine will bring together resources from the American Statistical Association and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), with ASA K–12 Statistical Ambassador Christine Franklin serving as managing editor. The ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability will continue to provide leadership for the publication.
“We felt this new look and name was more relevant to our audience,” said Walmsley. “I love the fact that a teacher of any grade level who is teaching statistics can come to this site for resources. It’s kind of like a ‘one-stop shop’ for statistics teachers of levels K–12 plus.”
ST will continue to provide articles about successful classroom practice and announcements about professional development opportunities. It will also continue to help connect K–12 educators across the country.
New features will include columns about technology and assessment and access to ASA/NCTM publications such as Bridging the Gap and Making Sense of Statistical Studies.
Statistics Teacher will also better incorporate the peer-reviewed STatistics Education Web (STEW) lesson plans and make it easier for educators to search for content by topic, grade level, or activity.
“Through combining several previous publication outlets into one central place, we will be able to make excellent articles and lesson plans accessible to a much wider audience,” says Walmsley’s counterpart, ST co-editor Hollylynne Lee. “I am proud to be part of the launch of this important contribution.”
Statistics Teacher will follow STN’s fall, winter, and spring publication calendar. Prospective authors are encouraged to contact the editorial team with questions or ideas for articles.
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