Spinetti.david probability and statistics

Probability & Statistics
David Spinetti
Intended for Grades 7-9

Rationale
Probability is the exploration into possible outcomes for a given set of events. It makes sense
to integrate technology into the exploration of probability because many aspects of
computing rely on some form of probability to generate outcomes. Probability is also more
easily explored if you can execute lots of trials and watch the numbers trend toward their
intended outcome. You no longer have to wait for a coin to flip or dice to settle, with the click
of a button hundreds of trials can be run at a time. Statistics are becoming more and more
relevant in today’s society of data collection, and technology is playing a huge role in how we
give meaning to all of that data. Things as simple as accessing the data to more complex
analysis all requires technology.

Resource Reliability
• All websites found in this presentation portray accurate information on probability as of
January 2016.
• Sites have been reviewed to ensure that the math is correct.
• Many sites are from premier math forums, and their content was created by
university professors.
• The URLs from which material was taken are cited.

The Basics
● Khan Academy is one of the best and highest recommended places to go if you learned
something in class, but needed a bit more of an explanation. Khan’s probability and
statistics lessons are no exception and are a fantastic place to start learning the topics,
or reinforce any prior knowledge.
● YouTube has become a veritable collaboration space where teachers from around the
globe share their lessons. While you have to double check the reliability of the math at
times, it is helpful to learn new methods if you are struggling in class. Probability Tree
Example

But Why Should YOU Learn This?
One of the most common and important question of each lesson is “why should
I learn this? When will I use this in the future?” These blogs by math enthusiasts
apply probability and statistics to real life situations.
Simply Statistics is a great place to explore statistics further,
one of the featured posts discusses the relevance of statistics
modeling. Their podcast section is also worth a listen.

Probability, Statistics and Game Theory
Tabletop games aren’t the only place that
probability and statistics will give you the
edge. In the booming world of fantasy
sports knowing which player to sub in and
which to bench is all in the NUMB3RS.
From video to card to board, knowing how
probability affects the mechanics of a game
will give you the upper edge in winning.
Divis by Zero has a blog post to give you a
leg up on a popular board game called
Settlers of Catan.

Statistics and Data
Data.gov is a government-curated site that has publically-available data
that has been collected in a wide variety of fields, including science,
transportation, business, and government. This data can be used to
show trends and act as live datasets for real world problems, which can
be used for hands-on examples and assignments to practice statistical
investigation.

Teaching Materials
● An app version of Catan is available on Android and iOS to practice statistics in
action.
● The Monty Hall problem is always a good brain teaser using probability and
statistics to back up why this seemingly-simple problem has more going on than
you think.
● Testing out probability and judging a game’s fairness with this worksheet
● Learn and reinforce important statistics vocabulary through these word
searches.

Subject-Specific Website
● Math Goodies is a fantastic website for teachers that contains lesson
plans and worksheets. The site is easy to use and broken into various
topics that each contain the lesson, worksheets, homework, and the
means to create more. Though their worksheets get repetitive if used
for all of the sections, this site offers a good way to supplement lessons
if you need more material.

Additional Websites
● Wolfram Demonstrations Project is a website that brings together all different kinds
of mathematics visualizations that are useful in getting math models into the hands
of students.
● TED Talks these fantastic presentations are made by some of the best and brightest in
the world. They span all possible topics and usually a good one can be found to
overlap the subject matter. Linked is a probability video about how to determine who
on a desert island gets the last banana.

Applications to enhance collaboration
● LiveBinders is a single place for students to get all of the materials
and explanations on a project. This enables teachers to ensure
that all students have access to everything needed.
● Google Forms provide an easy and unobtrusive way to get an exit
ticket or feedback from your class that remains private but useful.
This allows the teacher to have some awareness of what the class
does and does not know.

SlideShare
This slide deck is publically-available on SlideShare, at the following link:
http://www.slideshare.net/DavidSpinetti/spinettidavid-probability-and-statistics

Spinetti.david probability and statistics

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