Registrations are now open for the Statistics Teachers’ Day, Thursday 22nd November and will close on Wednesday 7 November (or earlier if full).

For more information about the day and to register, go to: Statistics Teachers’ Day 2012.

When you register you will need to choose one workshop for each of the 4 sessions and a further 2 back-up choices. These may be from any session but should be different to your other 4 choices. Registration for workshops will be on a first-in, first–served basis. In the event of one (or more) of your choices being full we will first try and accommodate you by offering you the same 4 workshops in a different mix of sessions. If we cannot do that we will use one (or both) of your back-up choices. We strongly encourage schools with more than one person attending to converse before making workshop choices and choose different workshops, to ensure that there is space for people from other schools.

Statistics NZ have a number of curriculum based activities and information that can be used in the classroom on their Schools Corner.

Please visit: http://www.statistics.govt.nz/methods_and_services/schools_corner.aspx

Statistics NZ provides advice and funding to the CensusAtSchool project.

About one in five students is carting a school bag weighing 5kg or more — the same as a bag of potatoes.

The insight comes from the first 1000 students to complete the online CensusAtSchool 2009, which opened on Tuesday March 3 and runs all term. The figures would seem to back recent chiropractor concern that some young people carry heavy bags all day, risking chronic shoulder, neck and back pain.

An estimated 50,000 students aged between 10 and 18 (Year 5 to Year 13) are due to answer 35 questions about their lives in CensusAtSchool 2009. Teachers administer the 15-minute survey, available in English and Māori, in class. “The project aims to raise students’ interest in statistics as well as provide a snapshot of what they are thinking, feeling and doing,” says co-director Rachel Cunliffe, a statistics lecturer in the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics.

In other sneak-peek results, 65% of participants said they had played online games in the week before they completed the census. Half downloaded or listened to music on line, and half downloaded or watched online videos such as YouTube, TV shows and movies. Other activities on the internet included keeping in touch with friends (58%) and school work (56%).

Young people proved themselves at ease in the online world, but it seems that the love affair with social networking site Bebo might be waning — among the first 1000 respondents, 35% had their own Bebo page, down from 48% in the last CensusAtSchool in 2007. Personal Skype access at home tallied 30%, a Facebook page 13% and a MySpace page 11%.

And if they could have super powers, girls would choose telepathy (28%) and boys the ability to travel in time (37%).

CensusAtSchool is a collaborative project involving teachers, the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics, Statistics New Zealand and the Ministry of Education. It is part of an international effort to boost statistical capability among young people, and is carried out in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and South Africa.

What are Kiwi kids’ favourite subjects? How much do their laden schoolbags weigh? And which super-powers, such as invisibility and telepathy, would they choose if they could?

An estimated 50,000 students aged between 10 and 18 (Year 5 to Year 13) are due to start answering these questions – and a host of others about their lives – as the online CensusAtSchool 2009 begins.

Their teachers will be administering the 15-minute census in class between next Tuesday, March 3, and the last day of term one, Thursday April 9. The 35-question survey, available in English and Māori, aims to raise students’ interest in mathematics and statistics as well as provide a fascinating sketch of what they are thinking, feeling and doing.

“It’s about making numbers practical, fun and relevant to young people,” says co-director Rachel Cunliffe, a statistics lecturer at the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics. “We are encouraging them to be data detectives and explore the uses of numbers.”

One question asks students to measure their popliteal length – that’s the measurement from the back of the knee, when seated, to the floor. Another invites them to click on a button to measure their reaction time. Students submitted four of the survey’s questions, with one of those asking about favourite online activities.

CensusAtSchool proved enormously popular with teachers and students in 2003, 2005 and 2007, says Rachel Cunliffe. “Students tell us over and over that they love the results. They love to know about other students.”

CensusAtSchool is a collaborative project involving teachers, the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics, Statistics New Zealand and the Ministry of Education. It is part of an international effort to boost statistical capability among young people, and is carried out in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and South Africa.
“CensusAtSchool is about real-world learning in a way that is compelling and exciting for students,” says Mary Chamberlain, the Ministry of Education’s Group Manager, Curriculum Teaching and Learning. “It not only teaches them how to measure the world around them and why statistics are important, it offers interesting snapshots of their lives.”

ends

Notes to media:

– Further information and a list of schools taking part in CensusAtSchool New Zealand 2009 is available at http://www.censusatschool.org.nz/

– Rachel Cunliffe, CensusAtSchool co-director and spokesperson, is available on 373
7599 ext 89622. This number transfers to Rachel’s mobile phone if she is not in the office. Her email is rachel@stat.auckland.ac.nz

About CensusAtSchool co-director Rachel Cunliffe

Rachel Cunliffe, a statistics lecturer at the University of Auckland, also lectures and speaks about online communications and youth culture. Rachel and her husband Regan are behind the popular New Zealand TV-watchers’ website Throng. Rachel has been researching the use of instant messaging in educational settings.

A copyright-free portrait of Rachel Cunliffe for media use is available here.

Workshop Theme: “Data Handling and Chance Activities that Promote Citizens’ awareness of data handling and chance”

Statement of Purpose:

To provide an opportunity for participants to:

• achieve common understanding of the International CensusAtSchool project and other efforts of countries to impact statistical literacy.
• acquire experience with CensusAtSchool country-specific data handling activities and resources for teachers and students;
• learn about census-like projects not coordinated with CensusAtSchool;
• further promote and increase students’ and teacher’s interests in statistical literacy globally.
• Increase awareness of the efforts made in the United States and other countries to improve statistical literacy of children in schools.
• Share existing hands-on activities in the US and other countries.

More information »

The first international statistical literacy competition is now open for students aged 10-18. Teachers may register their students now and find out more information at the competition’s website:

http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/iase/islp/competition

From mid-August to the end of September 25,048 students from 505 schools – almost one in five schools in New Zealand – took part in the survey. Here are some summary tables…

Today six new activities, suitable to be used immediately in class, have been released on the CensusAtSchool New Zealand website.

These activities, some developed by internationally renowned statistics education researcher Maxine Pfannkuch, have already been trialled in classrooms.

They are:

• Are you getting enough Zzz?
• Armspans
• A Tall Tale
• Big Foot
• To Tag or Not To Tag?
• Ready, Steady, Go!

All resources clearly follow the Statistical Investigation cycle which is part of the new Mathematics and Statistics curriculum and illustrated on the Data Detective Poster.

More than 10,000 Year 5-13 students from all over New Zealand have taken part so far in this year’s educational and fun CensusAtSchool online survey.

The project gives students access to a rich and comprehensive snapshot of their generation which they can explore and make exciting discoveries about in the classroom. CensusAtSchool has previously been run in 2003 and 2005 and this latest snapshot will also enable children to compare themselves with data from the last two surveys.

A sneak peek at a few of the results so far show that 48% of students taking part have a Bebo page and 46% have a TV in their bedroom.

The Top 10 favourite websites so far for boys taking part are:

1. Bebo
2. YouTube
3. Google
4. Miniclip
5. RuneScape
6. TradeMe
7. AddictingGames
8. WWE
9. PokemonCrater
10. ClubPenguin

The Top 10 favourite websites so far for girls taking part are:

1. Bebo
2. Google
3. YouTube
4. Miniclip
5. Stardoll
6. Neopets
7. ClubPenguin
8. Disney
9. TradeMe
10. MSN

CensusAtSchool is part of an international effort to boost statistical capability among young people, and is also conducted in the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa. CensusAtSchool started in Maths Week and runs from 13 August until 30 September. The project is sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Statistics New Zealand and the Department of Statistics of the University of Auckland. Over 1,700 teachers have registered their classes to take part.

Further results and classroom resources are made available through this website.

Over 1,000 students took part in the first day of CensusAtSchool today!

A quick peek at some of the results so far show that 52% of students taking part have a Bebo page and 41% have a TV in their bedroom.

The Top 3 favourite websites so far are:
Boys: Bebo, YouTube and Miniclip
Girls: Bebo, Google and Stardoll

The average length of hair so far is approximately:
30cm for girls
7cm for boys