Variation about the mean

URL: http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/learningmath/data/session5/index.html

1007936

This workshop session, part of a free online course developed for elementary and middle school teachers, explores the mean in depth. Participants work together to investigate the mean as the balancing point of a data set and come to understand how to measure variation from the mean. Video segments, interactive practice, problem sets, and discussion questions involve participants in active exploration.

Summary

Subject keyword(s)	Data analysis, Mathematics, Mean, median, and mode, Standard deviation, Statistics
Grade level	Elementary School, Middle School, Vocational/Professional Development Education
Intended audience	Educator, Professional/Practitioner
Resource type	Instructional Material
Resource format	text, text/html

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Title	Middle School Portal: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2)
Link	http://msteacher2.org/
Description	The Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2) supports middle grades educators with high-quality, standards-based resources and promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing among its users. Educators use MSP2 to increase content knowledge in science, mathematics, and appropriate pedagogy for youth ages 10 to 15. MSP2 employs social networking and digital tools to foster dynamic experiences that promote creation, modification, and sharing of resources, facilitate professional development, and support the integration of technology into practice. MSP2 is a project of the Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology, National Middle School Association, and Education Development Center, Inc., and is funded by the National Science Foundation. The partners integrate resources, tools, and services across projects, and support multiple methods of resource discovery to meet the needs of this audience.
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Content contained within the resource

      In Session 4, we explored the Five-Number Summary and its graphical representation, the box plot. We also explored the median, a common numerical summary for a data set. In this session, we'll investigate another common numerical summary, the mean. We'll also learn several ways to describe the degree of variation in data, based on how much the data values vary from the mean. Note 1 Part A: Fair Allocations Part B: Unfair Allocations Part C: Using Line Plots Part D: Deviations from the Mean Part E: Measuring Variation Homework   Materials You will need to have these materials in hand before you begin: •  45 coins •  calculator •  several pieces of blank paper or 22" by 28" poster board •  self-adhesive colored dots or 2" by 1.5" adhesive notepaper squares   In this session, you will do the following: •  Understand the mean as an indicator of fair allocation •  Explore deviations of data values from the mean •  Understand the mean as the "balancing point" of a data set •  Learn how to measure variation about the mean Throughout the session you will be prompted to view short video segments. In addition to these excerpts, you may choose to watch the full-length video of this session. Previously Introduced: New in This Session:   line plot median variation allocation deviation from the mean equal-shares allocation mean mean absolute deviation (MAD) standard deviation variance Next > Part A: Fair Allocations Learning Math Home | Data Home | Register | Glossary | Map | © Session 5: Index | Notes | Solutions | Video Home | Catalog | About Us | Search | Contact Us| Site Map Tweet | © Annenberg Foundation 2012. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy