Week 4 Presentation of discrete data
Introduction
In Week 1 we said, ‘The early decisions about your question and your data will impact on the analysis and interpretation.’ Then in Week 2 you went on to look at the different types of data such as qualitative and quantitative data, breaking quantitative data down into discrete or continuous data types. The way data is presented is dependent on the type of data and this is a key point often missed when teaching statistical graphs to younger students. Whilst it is not necessary for younger students to understand the different data types, it is important they are exposed to appropriate graphs for the data being used, so that future teachers are not trying to ‘undo’ incorrect assumptions. [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
In Week 3 you looked at four important summary statistics: the mean, the median, the mode and the range. Together these four figures can reveal a lot, very quickly. However, summary statistics rarely tell a full story, and a statistical picture is another excellent way of communicating your findings. Summary statistics and graphical representations all come under the third stage of the PCAI cycle, analyse.
I wonder if you checked the weather forecast today. Much of the data associated with weather is continuous; temperature, amount of rainfall, wind speed and air pressure are all examples. Weather stations regularly collect data about the atmosphere around them; if you work in a school, you may even have a weather station on the school roof.
Weeks 4 and 5 explore some of the most common charts and graphs that are covered in early school mathematics. It is likely that you will be familiar with some of these, but we hope you will discover some new features and ways of thinking about these graphical representations of data. You will also get some ideas for how these graphs might be presented to learners.
The use of weather data provides the opportunity to link with other subjects and topics such as geography, science, climate change and the environment. The Met Office is the UK’s national meteorological service founded in 1854, and they provide the general public with access to large amounts of data about the weather and conditions around us.