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...
My textbook has a feature in every chapter: Dirty Data Alerts. It warns students about ways that data can be manipulated without straight-up lying. I have one Dirty Data Alert dedicated to manipulated y- axes . Like, truncated y -axes. Because that is the way you manipulate a y -axis, right? RIGHT?! Oh, no, there is a new way to manipulate them without lying. Check out this example, pointed out by @SarahStarberry. Here, the y-axis measures the version number. That's all. Not how good the tool is, or how often it is being used. Just the version number. Like...just wait until I come out with JessChattyTalkTalkBot 8.0 and I destroy all existing competition. If this idea was helpful, you'll probably enjoy my textbook, Psychological Statistics for Everyone . It's basically this blog, but organized into a semester.