CEdO 540 Post#2

I have had the unique experience over the last few days to be taught by the experts in the area of statistics. As I have said in previous responses, my experience with statistics is sketchy at best, and the fog of time has clouded any knowledge that might have been gained in the past. Fortunately, I have students in my advanced composition class who have recently taken AP statistics . My inquiries concerning statistical jargon and procedure were met with a chorus of answers, and I think that the students got a kick out of teaching this old dog. I couldn't help but be reminded of the very nature of 21st century skills, and the fact that teachers are not the only experts in the room. I learned from whatever source was available, and my sources, regardless of generational issues, were sympathetic to my plight. The fact that these young minds could take complex ideas and explain them in simplistic terms gives me hope for the future. During the process, I was also introduced to the graphing calculator, and found how technology can make math almost too easy. My students were able to work the problems without the help of the calculator, but I was amazed at how a machine could take a bunch of numbers and yield the answers in seconds that would have taken many minutes by hand. Where were graphing calculators when I was in school? Why did I have to walk up hill both ways to school in the driving snow everyday. :)
Capterra is a really neat resource for business, but also for educators. We often feel the need or are strongly encouraged to solicit feedback in our classrooms. Capterra provides many tools to create quality surveys without spending valuable time researching for possible survey generators. The work has been done for us, and all we need to do is tell the selected tool what to do. Capterra also provides customer service and a guide to help individuals find the right tool for the job. I would think the temptation could be to pick the first tool that comes to mind without really knowing the limits and possible benefits. Capterra provides that information on hundreds of survey tools, which in turn helps the individual find a tool that is specific to his/her needs.
I enjoyed looking at some ACT data this week, and I found that original hypotheses were proven false by the data. I hate when my assumptions are proven false, but the experience is a nice reminder why we should never assume. Now that I know where to find data concerning student achievement at my high school, I think that my department will be able to develop specific plans to improve student results on standardized tests. No one wants to admit teaching to a test, but the data certainly indicates areas of weakness that can be addressed in the individual classrooms. This shared knowledge can help all the teachers focus attention on getting the most out of students, and I hope will be motivation for students to keep achieving at a high level.

CEdO 540 Post#1

I think this new class will be a nice departure from the classes to this point in the program. In my opinion, the very nature of statistics involves black and white data. It is when humans get their hands on the data that the process goes haywire, mainly because objectivity is nearly impossible to uphold. Why do we gather data? We gather data to make determinations that will influence decisions in the future. Too many people will be affected by these decisions so conflict can often arise. Unscrupulous individuals can "cook the books" and often make spurious claims concerning what the data tells us. But the data itself has no agenda, and the pursuit of data is an important feature of an evolving society.
My background in statistics is sketchy at best. I vaguely remember doing some work with statistics in various math classes, but I have never had a class that focused solely on statistics. After our first class, I felt as though many of the terms used were vaguely familiar, which is good, but my comfort level will certainly be challenged when I am put to task with using statistical data.
Since I work in a data hungry district, I think the experiences in this class will give me the tools to use data effectively in shaping classroom instruction. I have found that the initial assignments have taken me far more time to complete than had been anticipated, but that could be a result of my nature rather than the nature of the assignments. Either way, I look forward to learning how to collect, analyze, and apply data to decisions made in my classroom, language arts department, and my school.