Teaching students how to read, interpret and question graphs, maps and charts is a key 21st-century skill. In this 54-minute webinar, recorded live in March 2019, join educators from The Learning Network, the American Statistical Association and Desmos, as well as guest teachers and students, as we discuss ways to teach and learn with the award-winning graphics from The New York Times.
Graphs pop up everywhere these days — not just in old media like textbooks, state exams and newspapers, but also on YouTube and Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Yet they still serve the same age-old purposes: to inform and persuade — and, occasionally, to misinform. That means students are most likely interacting with statistics and visualized data not just in school, but in their everyday lives as well. Do they have the tools to understand these graphs, evaluate their reliability and draw logical conclusions?
Each week on The Learning Network, we spotlight a new Times graph — on topics ranging from pop music and sneakers to climate change and college costs — as part of our “What’s Going On in This Graph?” feature. On Wednesdays, teachers from the A.S.A. provide live facilitation to help students notice, wonder and deepen their analysis. And on Thursdays, our A.S.A. partners provide additional background about these graphs and relevant statistical concepts.
Webinar Resources
Resource List: In this PDF you can find links to all the resources we discuss in this webinar.
Original Webinar: You can watch the original, unedited webinar here and download a professional development certificate at the end. The webinar is free, but registration is required.
Webinar Special Guests
Sharon Hessney, Mathematics Teacher, Boston.
Ms. Hessney is an American Statistical Association member and a Boston math teacher. She curates the graphs for “What’s Going On in This Graph?”, writes the releases, and coordinates the online moderators.
Dan Meyer, Chief Academic Officer, Desmos.
Mr. Meyer explores the future of math, technology and learning as the chief academic officer at Desmos. He taught high school math to students who didn’t like high school math and has advocated for better math instruction on CNN, Good Morning America and TED.com.
Greg Yarnall, Advanced Placement History Teacher, Morris Township, N.J.
Mr. Yarnall is a longtime Advanced Placement History teacher at the Academy of Saint Elizabeth in Morris Township, N.J. His courses run the gamut from freshman World History to a dual-enrollment senior seminar on freedom, power and politics.
Kaitlyn Garrett, (10th grade) and Ellie Gates (11th grade), Students at Academy of Saint Elizabeth
Stefanie Geeve, Math Teacher, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
Ms. Geeve, a math teacher and instructional coach at Glenbard West High School, is passionate about education. She has used “What Going On in This Graph?” with her students to promote critical thinking, curiosity and student questioning.
Shannon Moran and David Benjamin (9th grade), Students at Glenbard West High School.