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Statistics hiding in plain sight: How this four-minute long interview on polling data can be used in class

Statistical literacy is important. I love examples of folks using statistical concepts without being snobby statistical gatekeepers.  For instance, see jargon-free statistical literacy that helps people make important decisions about their children's health or informs the  immigration debate .   As stats teachers, I think we are remiss if we don't talk about political polling in our classes. At least a little bit. Here is a brief, nonpartisan interview about political polling you can use in class to see whether students can identify the concepts they've learned. Here is a short  NPR i nterview o n  how to think properly about political polling. If you use the interview in class, you could ask your students to identify the statistics and research methods mentioned.  I clocked margin of error,  sampling error,  and research methodology evaluation. If using an audio interview isn't your thing, check out t his summary piece from NPR, based on the...

chartr's "Speed or Accuracy? It's hard to do both in fast food drive-thrus"

Sometimes, you just need a new, simple example for a homework question or a class warm-up.  I eyeballed and entered the data here (r = -.55). Enjoy.


A scatter plot displaying the relationship between fast food order time in seconds and accuracy (percentage of orders with an error).


I use this little example to explain to use the regression formula to make a prediction. Here are my slides.

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