The activities in this lesson should introduce you to the key concepts in the skill of data interpretation. You should complete these activities in a timely manner. Please consult your class calendar for details.
This hands-on activity will help you to see how variability and central tendency are used in data interpretation. View the .pdf and check in with the teacher before you begin. All of your work should be recorded in your lab notebook, including each section of the lab (Question, Beginning Ideas, summary of procedure, etc.).
After watching the introduction, complete this concept map to check your understanding of the main ideas and vocabulary.
So, what are measures of central tendency and variability, and what do they tell us? For this task, you must create a product that DEFINES central tendency and variability and explores different measures of both. The statistics can get VERY complicated, so you should stick to the basics: mean, median, range, standard deviation, standard error of the mean, and r-squared (for best-fit lines). You can use any resources that you like for research, and you can choose your own product. If you're not sure what you'd like to do, here are a few suggestions:
For this assignment, you do NOT need to know exactly how to calculate each measure. The goal of this lesson is to understand why central tendency and variability are important and what these measures tell us. You can learn how to calculate these measures in future lessons.
In your lab notebook, add your thoughts on data interpretation to your skills concept map. Include any vocabulary words and main ideas that you think are important to remember. Also, if you have any questions, be sure to record them and follow up!
