Wow! What a gift! Our math teacher showed up this great website this week that I definitely plan to use in my classroom some day. I highly recommend that you take a moment and explore this page in particular. Be fair warned that it takes a long moment to load, but it very worth the wait! It is entitled The Wealth and Health of Nations. There are 5 variables displayed in that graph. Five! They are the geographic region and specific countries, population size, life expectancy, income per person and a timeline. Each of these data sets can be replaced by any other data set that they have listed there, or a data set of your own. What an incredible way for us to look at our own stories through data. With their desktop application, you can enter and graph your own data. Can you imagine all of the fabulous things that students can come up with to record and graph over the course of your year together? Very cool.
I also appreciated our teacher's take on the value of interpreting data for our future. We all need to be able to do data analysis; interpret the information we get. We all need to be able to sort through questions. Is the data qualitative or quantitative? Does it represent measures of spread or measures of center, and how does that change our perceptions? She went on to talk about how sharing data has dramatically improved research using the Alzheimer's research "collaboratory" as a fabulous example. My favorite quote of hers is the title of this post: "Data is where all subjects connect. It is social and interdisciplinary."
I really enjoyed last week's lesson as well. I love how your blog looks like the site with the bubbles, very captivating. I like how she addressed the relevance of data. I've used data analysis in every job that I've had. I like statistics because I can use it. I never used other higher level math(although for some it may be highly useful)however, I have not met anyone yet who uses calculus in their job and I know a lot of people who use math "a lot" in their jobs. I do agree that we should move in the direction of data analysis/interpretation.. it is interesting, it applies and will continue to apply. What a concept, teaching according to relevance. That would be refreshing.
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The data IS all connected! The connection and meaning that graphs bring to math is huge for students. If we can then empower them with the tools and skills to ask questions about it, to analyze and interpret numbers beyond what you are fed will give them even more relevance! The opportunities for integration using graphs and interpretations of numbers are many! Yay! We love engaging and connected integrated options! Using this tool or others will help us all as we look for ways to connect our material with other subjects or just relevance.
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