The lineup for the upcoming Statistics Teachers’ Day has been announced. Looks like it’s going to be another great Statistics Teachers’ Day!

Day: Friday 29th November
Time: From 8:30 am
Place: University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau, Science Foyer, Corner of Wellesley and Symonds St.

Register now

The UoA Statistics Department and AMA organising committee look forward to seeing you as we engage in all aspects of teaching and learning with data!

For registration queries, please contact Anne Patel (a.patel@auckland.ac.nz)

The Margaret and John Kalman Charitable Trust is generously donating $30,000+ every year to recognise the achievements of Primary, Intermediate and Secondary school Mathematics and Statistics teachers in New Zealand. John Kalman was a professor of Mathematics at the University of Auckland from 1964 to 1993, and a leading promoter of Mathematics in New Zealand.

At least six prizes of $5000 are available. A commemorative certificate will be presented to the winning teachers.

Applications are invited from any Primary, Intermediate, or Secondary school teacher in New Zealand. Groups of teachers who have collaborated on a specific project may also submit a joint application.

The judging panel will include a representative from the Margaret and John Kalman Charitable Trust, a representative of the Executive of the Primary Mathematics Association (PMA) and/or the University of Auckland, and a representative from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Auckland.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Any examples of excellence in the teaching of Mathematics and Statistics at Primary, Intermediate, and Secondary school level will be considered.  Examples from the following categories are particularly welcome.

Stimulation of Interest – teachers who have inspired student interest in mathematics or statistics by making the subject exciting and relevant.

Teaching Innovation – teachers who have introduced new ways of making mathematical or statistical concepts more fun to learn and more able to be understood.

Teaching Excellence – teachers who have demonstrated the integration of research in mathematics or statistics education into their classroom practice.

Early Career Teaching Excellence – teachers who have demonstrated excellence in their teaching of Mathematics and/or Statistics during their first five years of their career.

Equity – teachers who have made a significant contribution to the teaching and learning of mathematics or statistics in under- represented groups such as Maori, Pacific Island and female students.

Service – teachers who have made a significant contribution to the teaching and learning of mathematics and statistics in ways that extend beyond their own school community.

OTHER CONDITIONS

Prize recipients will be encouraged to share their ideas via appropriate professional development events, such as the Primary Mathematics Association (PMA) Seminar day, the #AMAOnline platform, and other events run by their local Mathematics/Statistics Associations.

NOMINATION SUBMISSION

Please send the completed nomination form to Associate Professor Caroline Yoon at the University of Auckland via email: c.yoon@auckland.ac.nz

Nomination forms must be received on or before Sunday 22 September 2024.

NOMINATION FORM

INFORMATION REQUIRED CHECKLIST

1. Please attach a brief CV, maximum 4 pages, giving details of your teaching career and achievements to date. Include details of any leadership roles held or awards received.
2. Please attach reference from nominator.
3. Completed Nomination form

REGULATIONS GOVERNING MARGARET AND JOHN KALMAN CHARITABLE TRUST MATHEMATICS TEACHING PRIZE

1. Late applications will not be accepted.
2. Applicants will be competitively assessed on the basis of their application. Applicants must agree to abide by the decision of the judging panel. Applications and supporting material will not be returned to applicants. All material submitted will be used solely for the purpose of applying for the Prize and will not be circulated. No material relating to an application will be publicised without your prior approval.
3. The judging panel reserves the right to revoke, re-award or withdraw any application from consideration for the Prize if the applicant is in breach of any of these rules.
4. All prize winners should use their best endeavours to attend or be represented at the Prize presentation event if held.
5. Applicants agree to do all things reasonable to participate and/or cooperate with any promotional or media activities conducted by members of the judging panel. Photographs from prize presentation may be used for promotional purposes.
6. No contractual or other legal relationship shall arise between the members of the judging panel and applicants for the 2024 Margaret and John Kalman Charitable Trust Mathematics Teaching Prize.
7. The Trustees of the Margaret and John Kalman Charitable Trust will review this prize every three years, at which time a decision will be made to either continue or discontinue the prize.

Kia ora tātou,

Pip Arnold has put together a set of data cards for the 2024 New Zealand Olympic Team – 32 athletes who are competing at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in the rowing and canoe-kayak events.

See information about using data cards for ideas on what to do with the data cards. Other ideas include:

• Make a set of data cards for another sport or group of sports.
• Make a set of data cards for a venue
• Add variables to the existing set of data cards, e.g., the Olympian number, where they are based, did they compete in the Youth Olympics, what year was their Olympic debut

All the data that is in the data cards is also in the CODAP document listed in the resources.

If you use these with your classes, please let us know!

Recent CensusAtSchool Resources

• Discussing the Data: Health Attitudes to Being Online and Alcohol Use
• Year 3: Survey Your Environment 
• Year 3: Leave Your Lunchbox Litter
• Year 5: Scooter or Skateboard
• Year 5: What do Year 5 Students Do At Lunchtime?

Elsewhere… 

Maths Week is coming up August 12-16. Maths Week provides free maths and stats resources for teachers and students. Register now

Nga mihi nui

Rachel, Anne, Pip, and Chris

Kia ora tātou,

Welcome back! During the break, we have significantly updated our Resources section to make it easier for you to find the materials you need to teach statistics. We’d love to hear your feedback.

Discussing the Data: Health Attitudes to Being Online and Alcohol Use

A new teaching resource to help students analyse and explore the CensusAtSchool data has now been published!

CensusAtSchool collaborated with Tūturu to create a health and mathematics resource that supports teachers as they guide students through an inquiry approach to wellbeing issues.

The resource “Discussing the Data: Health Attitudes to Being Online and Alcohol Use,” includes activities for years 9-11 students and is based on CensusAtSchool data. It provides real-life learning contexts that are engaging and relevant to young people, and includes both general wellbeing data, and tailored survey questions about being online and alcohol use.

The resource was funded by the Ministry of Education and has been in development over the past two years. Contributors included experts at NZ Drug Foundation, NZHEA, Otago University, University of Canterbury, Classifications Office, Netsafe, and Alcohol Healthwatch. The resource was trialled by teachers in a number of schools across the country earlier this year.

In addition to the teaching resource, four videos were developed to help students understand the issues reflected in the CensusAtSchool data and prompt classroom discussions. A recorded webinar hosted by the Auckland Maths Association in June guided maths teachers through relevant activities, and examples of the resource in practice.

Explore the resource

More New CensusAtSchool Resources

• Year 3: Survey Your Environment 
• Year 3: Leave Your Lunchbox Litter
• Year 5: Scooter or Skateboard
• Year 5: What do Year 5 Students Do At Lunchtime?

Elsewhere…

Maths Week is coming up August 12-16. Maths Week provides free maths and stats resources for teachers and students. Register now

Nga mihi nui

Rachel, Anne, Pip, and Chris

Kia ora tātou,

We’re excited to share our new data cards for CensusAtSchool! You can find these in the data section of our site.

Data Cards using the CensusAtSchool 2023 Database

We have created different data cards for students in Years 1-3, Years 4-6, and Years 7-8. Explore them now!

What are Data Cards?

Data cards are one way of storing data about a person. Each data card represents one person.

Create Data Cards Using Your CensusAtSchool Class Data

Use this Google Sheet we have created.

Using Data Cards

Data cards allow for hands-on activities such as making data visualisations to analyse the data for an investigative question. Learn more

More New CensusAtSchool Resources

• Year 3: Pineapple on Pizza Explore classroom preferences around pineapple on pizza then explore secondary data using the 2023 CensusAtSchool Year 1-3 data cards.
• Year 5: Exploring our World: Teaching Plan This teaching plan uses the Dollar Street photos and videos as a data source for a statistical enquiry.

Elsewhere… 

• The New Zealand Garden Bird Survey is underway until July 7. A great data-gathering activity for your students. “Best homework eva!” Learn more
• Maths Week is coming up August 12-16. Maths Week provides free maths and stats resources for teachers and students. 250,000 students registered for Maths Week last year! Prizes are on offer if you submit an idea to promote Maths Week. Register now

Have a wonderful two-week break!

Nga mihi nui
Rachel, Anne, Pip, and Chris

Kia ora tātou,

Mānawatia a Matariki! We have a lot of brand-new resources using CensusAtSchool data to share.

New Junior Resources

Year 1: The Perfect Pizza Party

A statistical enquiry aimed at Year 1 ākonga, around designing pizza toppings for a pizza party. This lesson has strong literacy links to the letter p.

Year 1: Carry Your Bag

This lesson explores an everyday context using the PPDAC cycle to show ākonga that statistical ideas are everywhere and we can collect data to answer questions that are interesting to us.

Year 1: Cats or Dogs?

This lesson uses the PPDAC cycle to explore an investigative question that will appeal to Year 1 ākonga. Kaiako can take the lesson further by following the ideas provided to make this lesson into a series of lessons.

Year 2: Our Lost Teeth

A statistical enquiry aimed at Year 2 ākonga, around lost teeth. This includes follow-up suggestions for future discussions and data analysis over time.

Year 4: How Many Skips Can We Do in 30 Seconds?

Students are involved in all stages of the statistical enquiry cycle, from posing the investigative question, planning for and collecting data, to analysing and answering the investigative question.

New Senior Resources

Year 8: Fabulous Feet

Students are introduced to using scatter plots through the context of foot lengths. They use data from CensusAtSchool and interrogate this to see if they think the data is valid and reliable. Students then collect their own data and offer recommendations to the CensusAtSchool team to support improved validity and reliability of the data.

Nga mihi nui
Rachel, Anne, Pip, and Chris

Kia ora tātou,

Wow! Our latest survey has achieved record-breaking participation, with 45,794 students participating so far, providing real, relevant data for use in the classroom.

You have until the end of the year to get involved, so if you want your students to experience hands-on measurements and data entry which sparks conversations about managing variation and dealing with real student data, get registered and do it!

New Junior Classroom Resources

Year 1: Fabulous Feet

Explore practical ways to answer an investigative question about foot length and learn about PPDAC.

Year 4: How Many Skips Can We Do in 30 Seconds?

Students are involved in all stages of the statistical enquiry cycle, from posing the investigative question, planning for and collecting data, to analysing and answering the investigative question.

Data Explorer Cards

Introduction to PPDAC using Lego, birds, lost property, plastics, and more. Question prompts support learners to explore problems, plan, collect data, analyse and draw conclusions.

New Senior Curriculum Resources

Tūturu and CensusAtSchool – AMA Online June 2024 Webinar

A collaborative resource to help students explore data, what it means to them, their peers, and their well-being; and consider what health-promoting actions can be taken to help students navigate a digital world and a world where alcohol exists.

Embracing Creativity Through Explorations in Probability and Modelling – AMA Online June 2024 Talk by Dr. Anna Fergusson

Check out the “walking tree” the winner of this year’s Tree of the Year | Rakau o te tau survey.

Stay warm and have fun with your students being data detectives!

Nga mihi nui
Rachel, Anne, Pip, and Chris

Nau mai, hoki mai! Welcome back! 

We hope the summer break has left you refreshed and ready to explore data wherever you and your students live around the motu.

There are a lot of changes with the curriculum refresh, numeracy, and NCEA assessment. Below are events to keep up to speed with developments.

Upcoming events

NCEA Level 1 Workshops: February 14 onwards
These online weekly support workshops will be led by NCEA Implementation Facilitators and regional subject associations.

World Wildlife Day: March 3
“Bringing nature into the classroom can kindle a fascination and passion for the diversity of life on earth and can motivate a sense of responsibility to safeguard it.” – Sir David Attenborough
See the Department of Conservation’s motivational Meet the Locals videos.

Boosting Data Fluency project
Explore the wide range of curated datasets and dynamic data visualisations from WestEd and CODAP. Suitable for Year 7 classes and up.

CensusAtSchool Survey
Remember the CensusAtSchool biennial survey is open until the end of 2024! Make a plan for your class to take part.

Statistics Teachers’ Day Numeracy Resources
Julie Park and Tom Lin from Epsom Girls’ Grammar School presented a numeracy workshop for junior classes. See their resources.

University courses for high-achieving students
Have your students been involved in accelerated courses at school and/or passed Level 3 calculus credits in year 12? Is their ability in mathematics or statistics such that they would like an enrichment course while concurrently doing year 13 work?

There is a range of offerings from Universities around the motu, you do not have to be in the region to participate:

• University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha: Advancing in Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)
• University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau: Young Scholars course in Statistics
• University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau: Mathematical Acceleration and eXtension – MAX
• Te Kunenga Ki Pūrehuroa | Massey University: Accelerate+ programme
• Waikato University | Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato: Unistart

Interested in learning R?

• R is downloaded for free from cran.r-project.org.
• rstudio.com has a helpful interface to execute code.
• Check out these helpful R tutorials for beginners.

Enjoy the rest of the summer at school!

Nga mihi nui
Rachel, Anne, Pip, and Chris

In the latest CensusAtSchool survey, 39,000 students weighed in on the contentious debate: does pineapple belong on pizza? The results are in, showcasing a tight divide among Kiwi youth. While 47% advocate for its inclusion, 41% reject the idea of the South American fruit on top of their pizza. Surprisingly, 12% remained undecided.

According to Wikipedia, a Greek Canadian restauranter, Sam Panopoulos, inspired by the sweet-sour flavours of Chinese cuisine, added the first pineapple to a pizza just over 60 years ago and called it the Hawaiian pizza. The name “Hawaiian” surprisingly didn’t stem from the U.S. state but rather from the canned pineapple brand used at the time. Initially met with skepticism and slow adoption, this unconventional topping took time to win over pizza enthusiasts to become one of the most popular.

These statistics come from CensusAtSchool TataurangaKiTeKura, a non-profit online educational project that brings statistics to life in English and Māori-medium classrooms. Supervised by teachers, students anonymously answer questions in English, te reo Māori, Lea Faka Tonga, Gagana Samoa, Kūki ‘Airani Māori, or Vosa Vakaviti. The project is run by the Department of Statistics at the University of Auckland in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Stats NZ.

The eleventh biennial edition of CensusAtSchool was launched last year and will continue until the end of this year. See the questions, which schools are taking part, and a live dashboard on CensusAtSchool’s website: www.censusatschool.org.nz.

Kia ora tātou,

The end of the school year is approaching fast, and we hope you are enjoying the warmer weather with your students.

Over 38,500 students have taken part in CensusAtSchool this year! Wow!

We love seeing photos that teachers in kura and schools have sent in. Thank you so much for sharing these great action pics.

Photos from: Hay Park School, Tahuna School, Napier Girls’ High School, Marian Catholic School

We hope you enjoyed thinking about the standing jump data, which is a new question designed to allow comparison between groups – those that had a target and those that did not.

Because we’re all about data, it’s interesting that the top three participating senior schools are in the South Island, while the top three primary and intermediate schools are in the North Island!

We wonder what year levels your school plans to do the census and why, and do some students do it more than once, and if so why? We’re reviewing your survey feedback for our end of year report.

Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your survey experiences. This will help make things better for future surveys.

Coming Up

DECEMBER 4

Statistics Teachers’ Day Illuminating Data Pathways

Hurry – Register Now! 

Packed with presenters from around the motu sharing what’s going on in their classrooms, work, and research as they explore the world and develop their ideas and understanding with data. Plus: Our new data detective classroom posters will be given out on the day!

NOVEMBER 29

Online Colloquium on Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Education at School Level

Learn more and register 

Free for all, held via Zoom.

Seen Elsewhere

Some A.I. entertainment: “Walking Backwards into the Future”

Chris Wild’s keynote address, which opened the IASE 2023 conference, is packed with AI-generated images and music, examines drivers and priorities for statistics and data science education and its students in the light of recent data trends including the rise of generative A.I.

Youcubed Classroom Data Talks

Great ideas here.

CODAP – Common Online Data Analysis Platform

Free online software for exploring data. The datasets have activities that suggest questions that students can find out the answers to by creating data visualisations. See CODAP Examples and Data Science Games.

Objections to data science in K-12 education make no sense

Article by Freakonomics‘ author Steven Levitt looks at the argument for teaching students with the human and physical sciences data.

Winning Data Science Posters by Students

This South Australian competition has students follow their passion and collaborate to use their statistical and communication skills to answer questions. Reflect on the marking and feedback by other statistics educators to improve classroom teaching of data literacy.

Bird of the Century

A great, fun example of bias! Learn about this extraordinary bird and the extraordinary efforts that have gone into saving it. Thank you John Darby and the students at Mt Aspiring College. Kia kaha Pūteketeke!

Nga mihi nui
Rachel & Anne and Chris