Please take the time to read the short message from our SEL folks. The topic is empathy and teenagers. This week we also have two teacher features. We hope you enjoy the article on empathy and the features about two of our finest. Have a fabulous weekend as we conclude the month of March. It's always a great day to be a Chaparral! The Lesson Scenario: Charlie Brown and Lucy were going to play a game of monopoly. Both of them wanted to be the banker. Lucy decided that the fairest way was to spin a spinner and whomever’s name the spinner landed on - that person would be the banker. Lucy spun a spinner and declared - “It landed on me. I am the banker” Once they started playing, Charlie Brown got suspicious - he thought Lucy may have cheated! He wondered if the spinner she used really gave each of them a 50% chance of winning... Mrs. Ringwood and Mrs. Chong used this scenario to teach the various factors that can influence the power of a statistical test (effect size, sample size, alpha level). Each group of students was given a mystery spinner and divided into 4 roles:
As an extension some groups tried to use their data to predict the true probability that their spinner had of landing on Lucy’s name. Each spinner tested by students was different - see pictures. Mrs. Ringwood and Mrs. Chong used this experience to review and reinforce the concept of a Type 1 and Type 2 error. In this scenario a Type 1 error would be if Charlie Brown concluded that Lucy cheated, but she really didn’t cheat. A Type 2 error would be if Charlie Brown concluded that Lucy did not cheat when she really did cheat. In this simple and engaging activity Mrs. Ringwood and Mrs. Chong were able to teach some of the foundational concepts of a significance test. In a quick glance around the room one could see students laughing, collaborating and communicating with their peers. Students were discussing when enough data was truly enough to make an accurate prediction, and the nuanced difference between a Type 1 and Type 2 error. Students were actively engaged and applying their statistical knowledge. Westlake is truly blessed to have teacher collaborators like Mrs. Ringwood and Mrs. Chong that build rich learning experiences for our students.
Mrs. Ringwood and Mrs. Chong’s dedication to create a rich and engaging statistics program is truly evident in the interests students take in the program. Starting next year Westlake will launch a new course, developed by Mrs. Ringwood, called Beyond AP Statistics. This course is for students who have completed Advanced Placement statistics, and still have a passion to learn more about stats! Students will design and implement their own studies while applying more advanced statistical techniques such as ANOVA, multiple regression analysis and non-parametric tests. They will also learn how to use the statistics computing platform R, which is growing in popularity on college campuses.
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Steve Ramsey: WHS Principal BlogPrincipal's Weekly Reflections Archives
May 2019
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