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Showing posts from February, 2025

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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...
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r/DataIsUgly

I have found plenty of class inspiration on Reddit. Various subs have provided a  new way to explain mode   and median  and great, intuitive data to teach  correlation . However, much as a reverse-coded item on a scale can be used to get to the opposite of what you are asking about, r/DataIsUgly is rife with examples of how NOT to do data as to teach how to create good data visualizations. Very recently, I shared this example from r/DataIsUgly to illustrate why NOT to truncate the Y axis .  And...this sub is filled with people like us. People who love to proofread and notice data crimes. For example: How to use it in class? Can your students figure out why these data visualizations are...less than optimal? Can they fix them? They could be a fun prompt for extra credit points or a discussion board.
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Annual snow fall moderates the relationship between daily snow fall and the likelihood of canceling school

Moderation isn't one of those things that we typically teach in Intro Stats. But it is a statistical tool your advanced undergraduates will likely encounter in an upper-level course. I'm not going to teach you how to teach your students how to do one. I am, however, going to share a  example of what mediation is doing, inspired by living in the city in the US that has received the most snow this season (Erie, PA, with 93.9 inches for the season as of 1.30.25).  About a year ago, CNN shared data on how much snow it takes to cancel school in various parts of the country. I assure you, Erie and the rest of Northwest PA (see red outline) gets hella snow but no snow days. https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/12/us/how-much-snow-kids-school-snow-day-across-us-dg/index.html However, our lack of snow days isn't due to lack of snow. The annual amount of snow moderates the likelihood to cancel school, such that if you are used to a lot of snow (and have the infrastructure to handle it) you d...
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