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Association of Statistics Lecturers in Universities (ASLU) Project Prize
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:23:02 +0100: ASLU awards annual prizes for undergraduate projects in statistics or OR. The criteria against which projects are judged are: the student’s capacity for independent thought and work, the integrity of the methodology and theory, applicability of results, impact in terms of novelty and communication.
The ASLU committee would like to encourage more institutions of higher education to submit projects for consideration. These would typically be third year undergraduate projects taken as part of the final year during 2007-2008. Students can win £200, £100 or £50 for first, second and third prize respectively.
Projects (no more than two per university) for this year’s competition should be sent, by Friday 31st October 2008, to Dr Richard Gadsden, Mathematics Education Centre, Schofield Building, Loughborough University Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, who is a member of the award committee.
Unfortunately, we shall be unable to return projects. Winning projects may be displayed at future ASLU conferences as examples of good practice.
RSS Certificate in Teaching Statistics in HE
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:17:40 +0100: Readers are reminded that this certificate course continues to be offered as a useful course in statistics pedagogy in HE. The course is normally studied over a twelve month period by part time distance learning. Further details of the course, together with examples of successful certificands’ portfolios, can be found at www.rsscse.org.uk/activities/tsihe.asp and following the link to ‘View comments of past participants’.
Ninth year of Census at School
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:17:06 +0100: In September this year the Royal Statistical Society Centre for Statistical Education launched the ninth phase of the popular and useful Census at School project. Since its inception in 2000 more than 1.3 million school aged learners and their teachers from around the world have participated in this project. Many countries have used the project and its resources to help raise statistical literacy in schools and elsewhere. The recently launched New Zealand mathematics and statistics curriculum will be using the data from Census at School New Zealand to deliver their visionary and forward thinking new school programmes.
The Japanese Statistical Society is translating several of the freely available Census at School resources into Japanese for a pilot of the project in that country.
New Sponsorship for the Royal Statistical Society Centre for Statistical Education
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:16:28 +0100: From 1 August 2008 Minitab Ltd became a signatory to the contract of affiliation between the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), Nottingham Trent University and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that together provide core funding for the RSS Centre for Statistical Education (CSE). Minitab is providing sponsorship of nearly £30k per year, for five years until 2013, for promoting teaching and learning statistics in the Higher Education (HE) sector. This agreement represents the beginning of an exciting new era for the RSSCSE and will help to enhance its work in HE, and for and on behalf of the Maths, Stats and OR (MSOR) Network.
Over the next year planned activities include: running away-days for teachers of statistics to non specialist students in statistics; provision of facts, formulae and information leaflets in the series published by the MSOR Network; publications in MSOR Connections; running a Minitab-based workshop at the annual Universities Mathematics Teaching Conference event in December and research into teaching statistics to non-specialists.
Sharen Standbridge, Managing Director of Minitab Ltd said: ‘We are delighted to be teaming up with the RSSCSE and look forward to helping to improve statistics teaching and learning in the UK through both our sponsorship and being a member of the RSSCSE Steering Committee. This is the first time Minitab has become directly involved with a national and international organisation dedicated to promoting the improvement of statistical literacy’.
Neville Davies, Director of the RSSCSE, said: ‘Minitab will help provide a firm foundation for the future of the Centre over the next five years. RSS Council has also committed funding for the long term and the ONS will continue its own membership of the Steering Committee at least until 2012. Getting the support of a company with Minitab’s pedigree of over 35 years experience with providing highly respected software that is extensively used in academia, business and industry worldwide is something we are proud of’.
The Plus new writers award
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:15:39 +0100: Plus magazine invites secondary school and university students to write and submit an article on any mathematical topic they choose. This could be a mathematical idea or concept, an application of maths, a historical topic, the story of a mathematician, or a mathematical controversy. The competition has separate categories for university and secondary school students. The closing date is March 31st 2009, and more information on the competition can be found on the Plus site, http://plus.maths.org/competition. The winning entries will be read by an international audience of over a hundred thousand in the June 2009 issue of Plus.
SERJ Volume 7
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:34:21 +0100: The International Association for Statistical Education and the International Statistical Institute, together with co-editors Peter Petocz and Tom Short, are pleased to announce the publication of a new issue of the Statistics Education Research Journal . This can be obtained from www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/ by following the link to ‘Publications’ and then the link to ‘SERJ’.
Think tank report on GCSE
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:33:48 +0100: The Reform think tank has published a study into O level/GCSE mathematics examinations. It concludes:
The UK’s maths economy which powers the financial services sector and wider industry is in danger of atrophy as fewer students study mathematics and attainment falls. At the core of this problem has been the diminution of the O-level/GCSE which has gone from being a key “staging post” to a “tick-box test”.
A summary of the study (with a link to download the full report) is at www.reform.co.uk/thevalueofmathematics_214.php
Bowland mathematics materials
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:33:16 +0100: The Bowland Trust key stage 3 maths materials are now freely available at www.bowlandmaths.org.uk. Free discs of the materials will be distributed by the trust to all schools early in the autumn term. A number of the projects are statistics related
EMP project
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:32:46 +0100: The Evaluating Mathematics Pathways Project is an independent evaluation of the mathematics pathways pilots, which is being conducted on behalf of QCA. The pilots include
functional mathematics
the two new GCSEs
free standing mathematics qualifications
the use of mathematics award.
More details can be found at www.nottingham.ac.uk/emp.
QCA GCSE subject criteria consultation
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:31:27 +0100: The QCA is carrying out an online consultation until 30 September on the subject criteria for GCSEs in English, mathematics and ICT. Following this consultation, the QCA will publish criteria for GCSE qualifications in these subjects in December. The final specifications will be accredited in autumn 2009 for teaching from September 2010. The consultation can be found at www.qca.org.uk/qca_18259.aspx. However no mention is made in the draft subject criteria of the second GCSE in mathematics, which had been intended for higher achievers and more motivated students. In a letter to Jim Knight, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, Ofqual states that it ‘retains an open mind about whether two sufficiently distinctive GCSEs in maths could be developed’.
Williams’ Report into primary mathematics teaching
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:30:41 +0100: The final report has been published. A number of recommendations are made, including that there should be at least one mathematics specialist in each primary school, in post within the next ten years. The report was launched at the annual conference of the National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (NCETM) and more details can be found on their website, www.ncetm.org.uk.
RSSCSE certificate
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:29:54 +0100: The RSS Centre for Statistical Education launched its new certificate in teaching statistics at secondary level at the Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) conference in July. Teaching will begin in 2009 and the certificate is aimed at those teaching statistics to post-16 students as part of any level 3 course. It will be delivered through a mixture of distance learning, contact days and on-going support and will usually be completed in between one and two years.
RSS 2008 Teaching Statistics workshop
Wed, 14 May 2008 12:42:32 +0100: pre-conference activity on teaching statistics in HE will take place before this year’s RSS conference and will provide an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to summarise the latest developments in this area with a view to producing some guidelines for good practice in creating resources for teaching statistics by solving problems. The workshop will be presented by Jenny Freeman (University of Sheffield) and Philip Sedgwick (St George's, University of London) and will aim to brainstorm and develop ideas and produce a template for creating the resources.
The second Undergraduate Statistics Project Competition (USPROC)
Wed, 14 May 2008 12:41:59 +0100: The second USPROC, sponsored by the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics (CAUSE), begins accepting projects starting early May 2008. The time period for project submission is from May 2008 to the end of January 2009. All projects undertaken by undergraduate students during the spring, summer and autumn of 2008 are welcome.
The official guidelines for the competition can be found by visiting the website www.causeweb.org and scrolling down to the USPROC link. The winning projects of the first USPROC can also be found on this site.
IASE publications
Wed, 14 May 2008 12:41:24 +0100: Some publications of historical interest can now be found on the IASE website. Interested readers should visit the site, www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/, select ‘Publications’ where the following can now be found: the proceedings of ICOTS 2 held at the University of Victoria, Canada in 1986; The Training of Statisticians Round the World (1987, ed R. M. Loynes, pub. ISI); and Teaching Statistics in Schools throughout the World (1982, ed. Vic Barnett, pub. ISI).
Web-based training series
Wed, 14 May 2008 12:40:50 +0100: The American Statistical Association section on teaching of statistics in the health sciences spring 2008 newsletter is now available. The newsletter can be found by going to the website www.amstat.org, selecting ‘Sections’ from the banner and then choosing ‘Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences’ from the drop-down menu. From here the ‘Newsletter’ tab can be selected.
The Section is launching a web-based distance education program and details can be found by selecting ‘Teaching materials’ from the section web page.
Teaching Statistics in Schools throughout the World
Wed, 14 May 2008 12:40:15 +0100: The RSSCSE is constructing a proposal to update the 1982 book Teaching Statistics in Schools throughout the World (edited by Vic Barnett). A number of alternatives are being considered: for example, producing a combination of traditional (hard copy) and electronic (Internet-based) material. In the latter case the resource could be easily updated as new developments in teaching statistics in schools evolve. A number of stakeholders are being consulted including the ISI, Teaching Statistics Trust, the RSS and statistical educators throughout the world.
Renewed secondary framework for the teaching of mathematics
Wed, 14 May 2008 12:39:39 +0100: In support of the new curriculum for pupils aged 11 to 14, the Secondary National Strategy has launched renewed framework documents to support teachers’ planning and preparation. The new document is electronic and so more flexible, as well as being accessible over the web with embedded links to support materials.
DCSF consultations
Wed, 14 May 2008 12:39:00 +0100: Sir Jim Rose has been appointed to lead an independent review of the primary curriculum. As first stage of the consultation process, there has been a call for evidence, particularly seeking the views of those in the school workforce. Events will also be held to seek views, prior to an interim report in the autumn and a final report by March 2009.
Sir Peter Williams has undertaken a review into the teaching of mathematics in primary schools and early years settings. The interim report was published in March and the final report is due in June.
Further information on both consultations can be found on the consultations area of the DCSF website, www.dcsf.gov.uk.
New Director General at DIUS
Wed, 14 May 2008 12:38:18 +0100: Adrian Smith will be leaving his role as principal of Queen Mary, University of London at the end of August to join the Department for Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) as Director General, Science and Research, and Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department. He remains chair of the Advisory Council on Mathematics Education (ACME).
Undergraduate Statistics Projects
Wed, 14 May 2008 12:37:27 +0100: The Variety in Statistics Assessment project (http://www.rsscse.org.uk/activities/visa/) is carrying out a review of the organisation and assessment of final year undergraduate projects in Statistics, with a view to sharing good practice. What makes a successful project? What doesn't? How do you mark projects when they are all so different? How do you supervise projects when there are so many students and so little time? If you are involved in setting, supervising and marking such projects, then please pass on your experiences to Dr Richard Gadsden R.J.Gadsden@lboro.ac.uk) who is coordinating this study. Richard will also be hosting a lunchtime discussion session on this subject at the RSS 2008 Conference in Nottingham in September.
ASLU project prize
Mon, 12 May 2008 08:49:42 +0100: The projects submitted for the Association of Statistics Lecturers in Universities project prize were again varied in topics covered and application areas. The judges, Bal Chansarkar of Middlesex University and Richard Gadsden of Loughborough University were impressed with the standard of the projects submitted although the number was a little disappointing.
The first prize of £200 was awarded to Gemma Leeson of Sheffield Hallam University for her project " An investigation into different methods of analysing data from a study into treatment of schizophrenia". The second prize of £100 was awarded to Matthew Donnery of the University of Edinburgh for his project " Modelling Numbers of Olympic Medals". The third prize of £50 was awarded to Louise Graves of the University of Surrey for her project "Stepwise Logistic Regression Modelling in a Preterm Infant Database including Biochemical markers".
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Mon, 12 May 2008 08:45:58 +0100:
CETL–MSOR conference 2008
Mon, 12 May 2008 08:45:21 +0100: The Continuing Excellence in the Teaching & Learning of Maths, Stats & OR conference 2008 will take place on Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 September at Lancaster University. The organisers have issued a call for submissions which can be viewed, together with additional information about the conference, by visiting www.mathstore.gla.ac.uk/ and selecting ‘Workshops 2008’ from the ‘Events’ drop-down menu and then selecting ‘Programme & Event Details’ from the ‘CETL-MSOR Annual Conference 2008’ section of the table that appears on the web page.
IASE components of the ISI newsletter
Mon, 12 May 2008 08:44:44 +0100: An archive of copies of the IASE section of the ISI Newsletter (Nov. 1991 until the present) can be found by going to www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/, following the link to ‘Publications’ and selecting the link to ‘ISI Newsletter’ in the left hand panel. The web page also gives access to an archive consisting of all previous issues of this publication as well as access to the precursor series, the reports of the ISI education committee called the International Statistical Education Newsletter which appeared in the ISI newsletter between 1981 and July 1991.
IASE Matters
Mon, 12 May 2008 08:44:11 +0100: IASE Matters is a four-page insert in each issue of the journal Teaching Statistics. It describes the recent and future conferences, publications, etc. of IASE and other organisations around the world that are of interest to readers of Teaching Statistics. The spring 2008 issue can be obtained from the IASE website www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/, following the link to ‘Publications’ and then choosing ‘IASE Matters’ in the left hand panel.
New journal
Mon, 12 May 2008 08:43:28 +0100: The UCLA Department of Statistics Centre for Teaching Statistics has launched a new e-journal devoted to statistics education. The journal is called Technology Innovations in Statistics Education (TISE) and will report on studies of the use of technology to improve statistics learning for students of all ages and on professional development. TISE is interested in scholarly papers that address any of the following themes:
designing technology to improve statistics education
using technology to develop conceptual understanding
teaching the use of technology to gain insight into and access to data.
Further information can be obtained from the journal website, http://repositories.cdlib.org/uclastat/cts/tise/, where the first issue can also be viewed.
Diploma news
Mon, 12 May 2008 08:41:41 +0100: In early March, the government announced a new set of extended diplomas, equivalent to 4.5 A levels, to stretch the most able pupils. It said that these qualifications, at advanced level, will have an extra focus on core subjects such as English or maths. It will also be possible to study the higher level diploma with an extended core of English, maths and IT, to be worth nine good GCSEs, rather than the standard seven. Foundation level diplomas will also be able to be extended in a similar way, making them worth seven GCSEs. Whilst the news may go some way to reduce concerns over the mathematics content of the diplomas reported on in this column last month, concerns are now being expressed that 17 diplomas at three levels in two varieties may be an overly complex model.
However, in late March Ed Balls announced proposals to simplify the qualifications system so young people, parents, employers and universities can clearly understand the options on offer. The proposals form part of a Qualifications Strategy for 14-19 year olds published for consultation. It proposes four key national qualifications structures:
diplomas
GCSEs and A levels
apprenticeships
a foundation learning tier of courses that act as a route into higher level qualifications.
More information can be found on the consultations area of the DCSF website, www.dcsf.gov.uk.
Professional Development in Official Statistics
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:04:51 +0100: The Professional Development in Official Statistics Programme at the University of Southampton began over 8 years ago in partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Government Statistical Service (GSS). The programme offers graduate level training to statisticians and researchers who work full time in the GSS and other Organizations carrying out wide-scale statistical research. The programme consists of 23 short course modules covering a wide range of topics in Survey Methods, Sampling and Estimation, Data Analysis and other courses relevant to Official Statistics (Index Numbers, Time Series, National Accounts, Statistical Disclosure Control, Small Area Estimation). Many of the course units are taught by external lecturers that are world renowned leaders in their field. The course units are taught intensively for one week. This allows students who work full-time to undertake their studies on a part-time basis. The programme consists of a taught component where students who complete 8 course units satisfactorily receive a Certificate in Official Statistics and those who complete 16 course units satisfactorily receive a Diploma in Official Statistics. After the Diploma, students can continue to the dissertation component of the programme and undertake research related to their area of work to receive an MSc in Official Statistics. In addition, students can also undertake professional development courses on a one-off basis to obtain specific training in their areas of interest. The Professional Development in Official Statistics Programme has an external Advisory Committee that meets annually and includes senior staff from the GSS as well as leading academic statisticians. The aim is to ensure that the curriculum continues to cover key training needs of professional statisticians and researchers. University of Southampton Programme Boards meet twice a year in order to monitor and evaluate course units and ensure that the learning outcomes are met.
The Programme is unique in the UK since it provides a basis for a partnership between Government and Academia to provide professional training to the work force and ensure knowledge transfer. More information about the programme is on the website:
http://www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/socstats/moffstat/index.html
Variety in Statistics Assessment (ViSA) Project - Call for Contributions
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:04:09 +0100: The Royal Statistical Society Centre for Statistical Education (RSSCSE), under the auspices of the UK Higher Education Maths Stats and OR Network, is funding a new international project that is designed to collect examples of a wide range of different assessment methods from tertiary level statistics teachers worldwide.
The ViSA project aims to gather accounts of recent successful experiences in assessment of statistical learning at tertiary level, from around the world. The main focus of ViSA is a virtual international conference, with refereed proceedings to be published as a book in 2009.
Readers who have an innovative or tried-and-tested successful approach in assessing statistics learning that they would like to share should think about making a contribution. For more information visit the website www.rsscse.org.uk/activities/visa/ and choose the link to ‘Call for Contributions’.
CensusATSchool 2nd International Workshop
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:03:30 +0100: The Department of Statistics of the University of California, Los Angeles, is hosting the Second CensusATSchool International Workshop on behalf of the International CensusAtSchool Committee. The invited program and registration materials can be found at
http://censusatschool-california.stat.ucla.edu/index.html. For readers who would like to participate in the workshop presenting a poster, or some of their hands-on activities with the philosophy of the CensusAtSchool, there will be a poster area on the evening of June 28th, with drinks and food, where educators will be able to post their work. Readers who are interested in being panel leaders and/or coordinators should contact Juana Sanchez at jsanchez@stat.ucla.edu.
International Statistical Literacy Competition
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:02:54 +0100: The main objective of this competition is to encourage school students to become interested in statistical data analysis and chance in a way that will help them make more sense of the information that surrounds them in their daily life. Another objective is to promote and encourage teachers and students to use the statistical literacy resources that exist in their countries to achieve the first goal. The ISLP competition is undertaken in cooperation with individuals interested in statistical literacy in their countries, and it is not possible without them. Students of ages 10-18 can participate and there will be different categories, according to age. There is no cost to the students for participating or to the teachers for registering their students. The deadline for registration of teachers to the Competition has been extended to March 31st (Northern Hemisphere). Further details can be obtained from the website www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/islp/competition-english.
Conference grants
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:02:16 +0100: The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) is offering grants for six teachers working in schools and colleges in the United Kingdom to attend the third Mathematics Works conference. For more information on the eligibility criteria and how to apply, see www.ima.org.uk/Education/education_grants_mathsworks3.html.
Education informatics: steps towards the international internet classroom
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:59:51 +0100: Could an international group provide free access to primary and secondary school curricula, aligned with national, state and local standards, delivered by the best artificial intelligence tutoring technologies, in several languages, over the Internet? A workshop is to be held to discuss the feasibility of an International Internet Classroom Project at the European Conference on Artificial Intelligence to be held in Patras, Greece in July.
Papers are being sought, including position papers, from all sectors - academia, industry and government - on available sources of content, tools, platforms, student modelling methods, educational data mining techniques, pedagogical strategies, modes of content delivery, data and content mark-up and standards, and concrete experiences deploying technology-based education. Authors are encouraged to present their research, systems, tools, evaluations and deployment experiences in terms of and as contributions to what is hoped will become the International Internet Classroom Project. Enquiries are welcome. Please contact Paul Cohen at cohen@isi.edu. or see www.isi.edu/~cohen/ECAI08-workshop/education-informatics.html. The deadline for papers is 14 April.
ACME position statement on mathematics and level 3 diplomas
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:58:38 +0100: The Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME), an independent committee which advises the government, has produced a statement detailing its concerns that the mathematical requirements of the new diplomas risk reducing mathematical competence at all levels. Its concern relates to all diplomas, but they have been heightened since the recent announcement of diplomas in science, humanities and languages. This suggested that it may be that all other types of qualification, including GCSEs and A levels, cease to be provided by schools. Concerns are raised that since mathematics undergraduates may come through any diploma, they will not study sufficient mathematics to be a future mathematics specialist. Also, there appears to be no incentive for level 3 (equivalent to A level) students to study any mathematics during the course. The full press release accompanying the statement is at www.acme-uk.org/news.asp?id=91
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Wed, 5 Mar 2008 07:39:23 +0100:
ICOTS 8
Wed, 5 Mar 2008 07:38:43 +0100: The eighth International Conference on Teaching Statistics will be held in Ljubljana in Slovenia from the 11th to the 16th July 2010. The conference web site is now open and can be found at http://icots8.org/dates.php.
CETL-MSOR 2008
Wed, 5 Mar 2008 07:38:09 +0100: The aim of this conference is to promote, explore and disseminate emerging good practice and research findings in Mathematics and Statistics support, teaching, learning and assessment, whether to specialist mathematics students or students studying components of mathematics within other degree programmes (such as sciences, economics, nursing, social work etc.).
The conference will explore not only the issues at the transition to university, but any issues throughout the entire student learning experience from foundation year through to post-graduate level.
This year the conference will be held on 9th and 10th of September at the Postgraduate Statistics Centre at Lancaster University. Watch this space for further announcements.
CensusAtSchool International Workshop
Wed, 5 Mar 2008 07:37:17 +0100: The second CensusAtSchool International workshop will be held at UCLA, Los Angeles, July 28 – July 29 2008. More information can be found by going to the website http://news.stat.ucla.edu/ and selecting news item number 74.
International Statistical Review
Mon, 3 Mar 2008 13:07:10 +0100: The December 2007 issue of the International Statistical Review (Vol. 75 Issue 3 Page 279-438) includes a series of articles on statistical education. A theme of the papers in this issue is how to give students practical ‘professional statistician’ experience by using technology to collapse the time scale needed for the teaching. The main areas used as illustrations are the relatively advanced topics of design of experiments and multivariate analysis. The full issue can be obtained from www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/insr/75/3
Variety in Statistics Assessment (ViSA) project
Mon, 3 Mar 2008 13:06:38 +0100: The Royal Statistical Society Centre for Statistical Education, under the auspices of the UK Higher Education Maths, Stats and OR Network, is funding a new international project that is designed to collect examples of a wide range of different assessment methods from tertiary level statistics teachers worldwide. The main focus of the ViSA project is a virtual international conference, with refereed proceedings to be published as a book in 2009.
If you have an innovative or tried-and-tested successful approach in assessing statistics learning that you would like to share, then think about making a contribution. Some themes, by no means exhaustive, are: using different media in assessment; experiment-based assessment; survey-based assessment; using real data; individualising assessment tasks. You may also want to contribute from a particular subject viewpoint, such as the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects, or business, economics, health or psychology. Contributions that include critical discussion of the assessment process, ideally relating this to research studies, will be particularly welcome.
In the first instance, abstracts, of up to 500 words, should be submitted electronically, by 16 March, to p.bidgood@kingston.ac.uk. During April, selected authors will be invited to submit full papers, with a final submission date in September. These papers will be peer refereed and authors will be invited to take account of the referees’ comments in the usual way. Final versions of papers will be due at the end of March 2009. Published authors will receive a free copy of the book of the refereed papers.
Further information is available from www.rsscse.org.uk/activities/visa/
Latest SERJ
Mon, 3 Mar 2008 13:05:55 +0100: A new issue of the Statistics Education Research Journal (SERJ) has been published. The journal can be found by going to the website www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/, following the link to ‘Publications’ and then selecting ‘SERJ’. The most recent issue can then be viewed or downloaded by scrolling down to the links for the ‘Current Issue’. This same web page gives access to past issues and provides information for colleagues who are interested in submitting their work to the journal to be considered for publication.
Functional skills in mathematics
Mon, 3 Mar 2008 13:05:26 +0100: The pilot of the new GCSEs in mathematics had assumed that the assessment of functional skills in mathematics, a key element in the new applied Diplomas, would form part of the GCSE. However it has been announced that the assessment will be standalone. Combined with the introduction of the ‘double award’ GCSE for teaching from 2010, this seems likely to increase the number of examinations a candidate will sit. First teaching of Functional Mathematics will be in 2011.
GCSE statistics
Mon, 3 Mar 2008 13:04:55 +0100: Readers are alerted to a discussion forum on the Edexcel site at http://community.edexcel.com/forums/14.aspx. The development of the new GCSE Statistics course, for first teaching from September, is underway. Comments and suggestions are sought on the design of the specification, in particular on the coursework criteria and projects. This is of particular importance as the coursework, which accounts for 25 per cent of the final grade, will be in the form of a ‘controlled assessment’, with a feedback process to ensure the work is the candidate’s own.
New national curriculum for key stage 3 (11-14 year olds)
Mon, 3 Mar 2008 13:04:25 +0100: The new programmes of study, together with supporting materials, are available from http://curriculum.qca.org.uk. There is less prescribed content and a common format, to help emphasise links between subjects, and a focus on skills for life and work including economic wellbeing and financial capability.
Review of mathematics teaching in primary schools
Mon, 3 Mar 2008 13:03:51 +0100: The Department for Children, Schools and Families launched a separate review in October 2006, with a focus on pedagogy. The review will produce an interim report in March and a final report in June. Further details, including terms of reference can be found at http://www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primary/mathematicsreview
The Primary Review
Mon, 3 Mar 2008 13:03:21 +0100: This was launched in 2006 as a wide-ranging independent enquiry into the condition and future of primary education in England. Although the final report is not due until late this year, interim reports are being published to stimulate debate. These can be found at www.primaryreview.org.uk/Publications/Interimreports
The Plus new writers award
Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:11:50 +0100: Plus magazine is trying to find the science writers of the future, who can make mathematics lively and interesting for a general audience.
There are three categories to this writing competition: Secondary school students are invited to write a piece of up to 900 words about the life and/or work of any mathematician, living or dead. University students and the general public can write a longer piece on any mathematical topic or application they think the world should know about. The competition is kindly sponsored by the MSOR Network and the London Mathematical Society.
The closing date is March 31st 2008, and more information on the competition can be found on the Plus site, http://plus.maths.org/competition.
Connections
Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:11:18 +0100: Connections is the newsletter of the Maths, Stats and OR Network. The network is supported by the four higher education funding bodies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and Connections is free of charge to academic staff in UK higher education institutions. Other interested individuals can purchase subscriptions and should contact j.nuttall@bham.ac.uk.
The editors of Connections welcome contributed articles about the learning and teaching of mathematics, statistics and operational research within higher education and submissions should be sent to R.L.Surowiec@bham.ac.uk. Guidelines for authors can be downloaded from
http://mathstore.ac.uk/newsletter/guidelines/author.pdf.
IASE Assessing Student Learning in Statistics
Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:10:44 +0100: Proceedings from this summer satellite conference in Portugal are now available and can be viewed at http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/ by following the link to ‘publications’ where a further link can be found under the heading ‘IASE Satellites’ in the left hand panel.
Two reports from the recent ISI meeting in Lisbon are now available at the IASE website.
One of these is the report of our 2005-2007 President, Gilberte Schuyten which is available at:
www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/temp/IASEPresidentsReportSchuyten.pdf. and the other is a report of our General Assembly Meeting in Lisbon. This report is available at:
www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/temp/IASEGeneralAssemblyReportAug07.pdf.
ICME11 discussion groups
Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:10:08 +0100: There will be 28 themed discussion groups at the 11th International Congress on Mathematical Education which is to be held in Monterrey, Mexico, in July. These groups are intended to gather congress participants who wish to discuss, in a genuinely interactive way, certain challenging or controversial issues and dilemmas. A full list of the discussion groups with links to additional information can be found at http://dg.icme11.org/
ASA Education Section newsletter
Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:09:40 +0100: The Education Section of the American Statistical Association has published the autumn (fall) edition of their newsletter. It can be viewed at www.amstat.org/sections/educ/newsletter
CAUSE webinars
Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:09:01 +0100: Since January 2006, the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE) has offered free monthly web-based seminars on the second Tuesday of each month. The number of statistics educators taking part in these webinars continues to grow and they have increased their enrolment limits from 25 to 90 participants. Sessions are also recorded for later viewing at http://www.CAUSEweb.org/webinar
Call for 2007 DeGroot Prize
Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:08:27 +0100: The 2007 DeGroot Prize is awarded in recognition of a textbook or monograph concerned with fundamental issues of statistical inference, decision theory, and/or statistical applications, noticeable for its novelty, thoroughness, timeliness, and importance of its intellectual scope. The Prize consists of an award of $1500 and a commemorative plaque. Deadline for submissions is 15 December. For details on how to submit a book and an online submission form, visit http://bayesian.org/apps/DeGrootPrize/
Abstract
Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:07:27 +0100: November this year saw the release of 'The New Zealand Curriculum'. It includes a 'learning area' called 'Mathematics and Statistics'. This new name implies a paradigm shift for our mathematics education. Behind us sits six years of communication and collaboration between mathamatics educators and statisticians. Before us sits the task of supporting the teachers who will implement the paradigm shift.
We will outline our vision for a transformed mathematics subject, and the confluence of ideas from mathematics and statistics educators. 'Mathematics and Statistics' contains three 'strands': Number
and Algebra, Geometry and Measurement, and Statistics. We will discuss how they relate, and how the Statistics strand is structured through school from year 1 to year 13. It contains three 'threads': Statistical investigation, Statistical literacy, and Probability. We hope that 'statistical thinking' happens throughout, and we will discuss what we mean by this.
The Statistics strand contains some terms that are new for us, such as multivariate data, data cleaning, experimental design, and re-sampling. We hope to find some volunteers who will enact some
classroom activities (including some quality testing of NZ chocolate) on these. The aim is to show that the new contents will make statistics more teacher- and student-friendly, and not less.
The 21st century is presenting our students with some challenging issues, with an obvious one being climate change. These issues call for thinking skills from both deterministic mathematics and
stochastic mathematics, skills that are available to and necessary for school students. We hope that the new 'Mathematics and Statistics' part of the NZ curriculum will lead us into a new synergy between these two sides of mathematics
New Zealand School Mathematics and Statistics curriculum
Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:06:41 +0100: A new ‘Mathematics and Statistics’ school curriculum for New Zealand was launched in November. Among other things the new curriculum places great emphasis on developing statistical thinking skills. This is in stark contrast to recent directions being taken in the UK. Mike Camden, a methodologist with Statistics New Zealand, will talk about the new curriculum at a meeting organised by the RSS Centre for Statistical Education and the ESG on 13th December.
Diploma update
Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:05:54 +0100: They key website for keeping in touch with development of the new diploma qualifications for 14 to 19 year olds is www.dcsf.gov.uk/14-19. The materials available include scripts and presentations for publicising the diplomas to potential students, for the ‘lines of learning’ that will be available from 2008. The second edition of the diploma structures and standards document can be found at http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_10367.aspx. At the end of October, three additional diplomas were announced. These differ from the 14 already announced because they will not be based around a specific vocational sector. Instead, they will focus on science, languages and humanities as broad subjects. It is said they will “incorporate the best of existing GCSE and A-Levels qualifications along with new specially-designed content”. They will be available for the first time in 2011. It was also confirmed that an A-Level review scheduled for 2008 will now be postponed and that a first review of 14-19 qualifications will instead take place in 2013. The DCSF press release states, “All Diploma students will be able to communicate and analyse data at the highest levels.”
CAUSE workshops
Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:28:25 +0100: The Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE) will be offering two free workshops on ‘Building (UP) an Undergraduate Statistics Program’ and ‘Introducing Concepts of Statistical Inference’ in San Diego, CA on January 5th 2008. The workshops will be followed by the Joint Mathematics Meetings between the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America which will take place, January 6-9, 2008. For further information about these meetings details can be obtained from www.amstat.org/education/pdfs/MAAAncillaryWorkshopflyer.pdf.
Quantitative skills workshops for social scientists
Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:27:56 +0100: The Centre of Applied Statistics at Lancaster University has been designated an ESRC Regional Training Centre. It will host quantitative training events for social science students and to support the development of postgraduates’, statistics teachers’ and postdoctoral researchers’ quantitative skills.
Providers of quantitative methods courses in the social sciences are invited to deliver courses, seminars or workshops, which will be funded by the Regional Training Centre. They will be able to use the state of the art technology and facilities provided by the new Lancaster Postgraduate Statistics Centre. Under this scheme the centre provides a networked computing lab (24 seats), a range of software (with the flexibility to accommodate additional software provided by the course organiser), a seminar room, AV equipment, administrative support and refreshments for tutors and participants throughout the day. For more information on using the centre as a course venue please contact the Centre Administrator (b.abram@lancaster.ac.uk)
ISBA conference 2008
Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:27:22 +0100: Abstracts are now invited for contributed presentations at the 9th World Meeting of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis (ISBA) to be held 21-25 July 2008 on Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia. Further information can be obtained by visiting the conference website at www.isba2008.sci.qut.edu.au/
Call for 2007 Mitchell Prize
Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:26:51 +0100: The American Statistical Association Section on Bayesian Statistical Science (SBSS) is pleased to announce the 2007 Mitchell Prize. The prize consists of a $1000 award and a commemorative plaque. Nominations are now being accepted and the deadline for submissions is 31 December. For further information about the prize and for information about how to make a nomination visit www.bayesian.org/awards/MitchellPrize.html
ASA calls for editor nominations
Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:26:14 +0100: The American Statistical Association invites nominations for the position of editor of ‘The American Statistician’. The editor reviews general interest articles about current national and international statistical problems and programmes, and interesting and fun articles of a general nature about statistics and its applications, or about the teaching of statistics. The editor will serve from 2009 to 2011, with transition beginning in 2008.
All nominations must include a curriculum vitae and statement describing the nominee’s qualifications. Interested individuals may nominate themselves. Please send nomination materials no later than 31 December to journals@amstat.org or the ASA Journals Manager, 732 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, for dissemination to the search committee.
ICME11/IASE joint study conference
Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:25:33 +0100: There will be a joint ICME/IASE study conference at the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, in Monterrey, Mexico, from 30 June 30 to 4 July, 2008. Participation in the Joint Study Conference is only by invitation, based on a submitted contribution. Invitations will be based on a refereeing process to be organised by the International Programme Committee with participation of experts in the different topics of the Study. Further information can be seen at www.ugr.es/~icmi/iase_study/
Probability and statistics at ICME11
Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:24:54 +0100: The 11th International Congress on Mathematical Education is to be held in Monterrey, Mexico, 6-13 July, 2008. Two Topic Study Groups (TSG) may be of interest to readers of this column: TSG 13 will discuss research and development in the teaching and learning of probability and preliminary and short outlines/proposals should be submitted by 1 January 2008; TSG 14 will discuss research and development in the teaching and learning of statistics and the deadline for short outlines/proposals for this study group is 10 December.
http://icme11.org/
9th Brazilian Bayesian meeting
Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:24:13 +0100: The 9th Brazilian meeting on Bayesian statistics (EBEB) will be held in the Maresias Beach Hotel, in Maresias, Sao Paulo, Brazil (24-27 February, 2008). The meeting will have two special sessions: one dedicated to Professor Carlos A. de Braganca Pereira, to thank him for his many contributions to the development of Bayesian statistics in Brazil and, more broadly, in Latin America; the other will pay a tribute to Professor Pilar Iglesias, who died in March 2007. For further details visit the website www.ime.usp.br/~isbra/ebeb/9ebeb/
The Plus new writers award
Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:23:21 +0100: There are three categories to this writing competition: secondary school students are invited to write a piece of up to 900 words about the life and/or work of any mathematician, living or dead. University students and the general public can write a longer piece on any mathematical topic or application they think the world should know about. The winning entries will be read by an international audience of over 200 000 in the June 2008 issue of Plus magazine. The closing date is 31 March 2008, and more information on the competition can be found on the Plus site, http://plus.maths.org/competition
ISI 2007 Lisboa
Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:11:46 +0100: The 56th session of the International Statistics Institute (ISI) took place in Lisbon between 22 and 29 August. Details of the scientific programme can be seen by visiting the website http://isi.cbs.nl/ and following the link to ‘56th Lisboa Session’. Watch this space for news of the online publication of the papers.
During this conference there was a special meeting of IASE members and it was agreed that the full membership should be consulted about a change of name to ‘The International Association for Statistics Education’. The authors of this column would welcome email comments on this proposed change.
IASE Conference Guimaraes 2007
Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:11:07 +0100: The International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) conference on Assessing Student Learning in Statistics took place between 19 and 21 August. Details of the conference can be found on the website (http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/) by following the link to ‘Conferences’, and then, in the paragraph headed ‘IASE Satellite Conferences’, choosing the link to ‘On Assessing Student Learning in Statistics’. The details of the full programme can then be found under the following headings: Abstracts; Papers Abstracts; Posters Abstracts; Authors and Titles; and Poster Authors and Titles. Full transcripts of the papers should eventually be published through the website.
Linking disciplines that use statistics
Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:10:32 +0100: The International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) would like to develop links between statistics education at all levels and other disciplines which use statistics or data. Anyone who can help with this please contact James Nicholson (j.r.nicholson@durham.ac.uk).
IMA opportunities
Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:09:53 +0100: The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) has a scheme for helping schools and colleges find speakers on mathematics and its applications, including a number with relevance to statistics, from both academia and industry. Areas such as climate control, telecommunications, finance, marketing and strategy, the pharmaceutical industry and the automotive industry are psossibilities. Details can be found at http://www.ima.org.uk/Education/school_speaker_scheme.html
The IMA is also holding a one day conference that is primarily aimed at teachers to show applications of mathematics in the world of work. The conference will be held on 19 October 2007 at the Royal Society in London. Further details can be found at http://www.ima.org.uk/Conferences/mathsworks07.htm
RSS schools workshops
Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:09:17 +0100: Three schools workshops were held in May and June. Neil Murray, John White, Douglas Butler and James Nicholson were the presenters for sessions involving the whole of Year 10 at the John Flamsteed School in Derby. Fuller reports in a future RSS News are planned for the workshop held at Salesian College in Farnborough, and for the first primary workshop run in conjunction with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. Any schools interested in hosting a schools workshop in 2008 should contact James Nicholson (j.r.nicholson@durham.ac.uk) in the first instance.
IASE executive for 2007-2009
Fri, 5 Oct 2007 10:21:05 +0100: President: Allan Rossman (USA)
President-elect: Helen MacGillivray (Australia)
Past-president: Gilberte Schuyten (Belgium)
Vice-presidents: Andrej Blejec (Slovenia), John Harraway (New Zealand), James Nicholson (UK), Delia North (South Africa) and Enriqueta Reston (Philippines)
ASLU student project prize
Fri, 5 Oct 2007 10:20:16 +0100: ASLU awards annual prizes for undergraduate projects in statistics or OR. The criteria against which projects are judged are:
· the student’s capacity for independent thought and work;
· the integrity of the methodology and theory;
· the applicability of results;
· the impact in terms of novelty and communication.
The ASLU committee would like to encourage more institutions of higher education to submit projects for consideration. These would typically be third year undergraduate projects taken as part of the final year during 2006-2007. Students can win £200, £100 or £50 for first, second and third prize respectively.
Projects (no more than two per university) for this year’s competition should be sent, by Friday 26 October, to Professor Bal Chansarkar, Middlesex University Business School, The Burroughs, London NW1 4BT, who is heading the award committee. The organisers are unable to return projects. Winning projects may be displayed at future ASLU conferences as examples of good practice.
ASLU conference 2007 report
Fri, 5 Oct 2007 10:19:34 +0100: This year the Association of Statistics Lecturers in Universities (ASLU) conference on ‘Development of statistical education in HE since 2000’ was held at the Royal Statistical Society on 23 May. The purpose of the meeting was to highlight developments in teaching statistics.
The meeting opened with a talk by Richard Gadsden (Loughborough University) on SIGMA, a centre for excellence in the university-wide provision of mathematics and statistics support. Next, Ann Ooms (Kingston University) presented, on behalf of Joan Garfield and Bob DelMas (both at the University of Minnesota) and Beth Chance (California State Polytechnic University), an interesting demonstration of ARTIST (the Assessment Resource Tools for Improving Statistical Thinking). She was followed by Neville Hunt (Coventry University) who introduced the PiSA (Plagiarism in Statistics Assessment) project.
The after-lunch talks started with John Holden and Martyn Byng from the Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG) who demonstrated developments in statistical software since 2000, focussing on Microsoft Excel and NAG’s Excel-related products. Charles Taylor (University of Leeds) presented an interesting discussion on ‘Is R teaching effective?’ The final talk of the conference by Fred Smith (University of Southampton) was a summary of his report on the teaching of statistics in UK universities.
New vocational mathematics qualification
Fri, 5 Oct 2007 10:18:52 +0100: A BTEC in mathematical applications will be offered in 60 schools this year, with a national roll-out planned for three years’ time. The course will teach maths skills in engineering, sport and travel and will be offered at levels 1 and 2, equivalent to GCSE grades G to A*. It has been designed by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and the awarding body is Edexcel. It is hoped that the real life scenarios will help to motivate students.
QCA functional skills standards: mathematics
Fri, 5 Oct 2007 10:18:08 +0100: The final version was published in May and can be found at http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_6069.aspx. The standards are linked to the national curriculum and require students to use probability, use statistical methods to investigate situations, and collect and represent data. Testing of functional skills will form part of the assessment of GCSE mathematics and of the new diplomas.
Who Wants to be Statistically Literate?
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:29:20 +0100: The ISLP has designed a competition/game aimed at school students called "Who Wants to be Statistically Literate?". The first of several competitions will be held in Northern Portugal this summer. The game is currently written in Portuguese and the rules of the game, in English, can be found at www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/islp. The game itself can be found on the web site www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/islp/game . All students who speak Portuguese are encouraged to compete. In the future, commencing in the winter 2007, there will be an annual English-language online competition open to all English speaking students. There will also be a Spanish version that will be available in 2008. Any enquiries, and student requests for registration, should be sent to the Director of ISLP jsanchez@stat.ucla.edu .
BCME7
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:28:50 +0100: The British Congress of Mathematics Education (BCME) has confirmed that BCME7 will be held at The University of Manchester from Tuesday 6th to Friday 9th April 2010. The conference, expected to attract around 500 delegates, from all areas of mathematics and mathematics education, will take place in the University's newest venue, the SCAN building, which opens in 2008, and accommodation will be available in the University's halls of residence as well as in the Manchester Conference Centre
MSOR evaluation
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:28:00 +0100: The chairman of the Evaluators for HEA of the UK Mathematics Statistics and Operational Research Network is looking for readers’ views on the interaction between the MSOR Network and the Higher Education statistics community. Further information can be found on the letters page of the June issue of RSS NEWS and readers can send their comments to Kit Dodson, ctdodson@manchester.ac.uk .
GAISE Reports
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:27:30 +0100: Participants in the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) project have created two reports of recommendations for introductory statistics courses (college level) and statistics education in PreK-12 years. Both of the reports, together with some supporting material, can be found at http://www.amstat.org/education/gaise/ .
Schools’ workshop programme
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:26:49 +0100: This is a busy term for the schools’ workshop programme. James Nicholson took part in a maths week held at Brentwood County High School at the end of April. He talked to two groups each of eighty pupils from Year 10 about applications of statistics in the real world, with an emphasis on the interpretation of data. He also ran a session with Year 13 pupils on hypothesis testing. Workshops are due to be held in Derby and in Halifax in May, and in Farnborough in June. The first primary schools workshop is scheduled to be held on June 6th in conjunction with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust education staff
Stat ED Spring edition
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:26:10 +0100: The spring 2007 edition of the newsletter published by the Education Section of the American Statistical Association is now available online at http://www.amstat.org/sections/educ/newsletter/.
CensusAtSchool International Workshop
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:25:33 +0100: The meeting of the CensusAtSchool participating countries in Melbourne, March 26-29, was a success, marking historical landmarks both for the development of the project and also for statistical literacy in the world. Countries achieved common understanding. Operators of xisting projects agreed upon strategies to develop a single, unified, international project open to other countries in other languages within the next year. New ideas were developed to increase student’s interest in statistical literacy globally. The participating countries (South Africa, France, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia) will soon be informing of the future plans. Further details can be found on the international statistical literacy project website at http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/islp/census .
Dissertations in statistics education
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:24:53 +0100: IASE is building what they intend to become a comprehensive archive of doctoral dissertations in statistics education. These can be found at http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/. Follow the link to publications and then dissertations in statistics education.
MSOR day break course in clinical trials
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:24:22 +0100: Stephen Senn delivered this thought provoking one-day course, sharing his personal views and experiences on many important issues regarding the design and analysis of clinical trials. The course, organised by Brad Payne and Vic Barnett for MSOR, attracted 14 participants from a variety of backgrounds, travelling from as far as London and Northern Ireland to the University of Glasgow. The course feedback was excellent with many participants expecting to use the course materials in either their teaching or research.
For further details, or if you would like to see a ‘day break’ course run in a topic of your choice, contact Bradley.payne@ntu.ac.uk
IASE Review
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:23:48 +0100: IASE Review is a newsletter published annually by the International Association for Statistical Education. It contains a summary of IASE activities for the 12 months preceding its publication and short occasional articles on topics of current interest. The 2006 edition can be found at http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/, by following the link to publications and selecting IASE Review.
ASLU conference
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:23:13 +0100: The Association of Statistics Lecturers in Universities , in conjunction with the RSS esgEducation Strategy roup, is holding its one-day conference ‘Developments of seStatistical Education in heHigher Education since 2000’ at Errol Street on Wednesday 23 May. The purpose of the meeting is to highlight issues concerning teaching statistics in higher education and how teaching can respond to a changing student intake and to the knowledge and skills required by employers. Further details can be obtained from the chair, Penny Bidgood, at bidgood@kingston.ac.uk
The exploring data website
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:22:45 +0100: This website provides curriculum support materials for teachers of statistics in the form of a collection of links and resources for an introductory level college course. Included on the site are activities, worksheets, assessments and datasets in both HTML and MS Word 2.0 format. It can be found at http://exploringdata.cqu.edu.au/
RSS workshop
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:22:09 +0100: A short workshop on sampling was held at Langley Park School for Boys, Kent, on 18 January for 75 students from Year 10. David Cassell, Chris du Feu and James Nicholson ran sessions on different aspects of sampling, and each of the students attended two sessions. We hope to have a full report on the workshop from the school in a future RSS NEWS. The primary workshop scheduled for late March has been postponed until after Easter.
BCME7
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:21:34 +0100: The 7th British Congress of Mathematics Education will be held in Manchester during the week beginning 5 April in 2010. It will follow the successful format of BCME6 as a unified conference supported by all the organisations involved with mathematics education in the UK. More details will be placed on the conference website www.bcme7.org as they become available.
GCSE statistics
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:20:50 +0100: QCA is currently consulting awarding bodies in a review of the GCSE subject criteria for statistics. This follows on from the review of GCSE coursework published last June. The new criteria will apply for teaching from September 2009
GCSE mathematics
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:20:15 +0100: The Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME) has warned that the introduction of a dual award in mathematics in 2010 could leave students unprepared for study at A level. Their concern stems from the fact that the current plan is for only the first GCSE to be a requirement for study at AS level, whilst the more conceptual and theoretical aspects of mathematics will be studied in the second GCSE. Given that only the first GCSE will count towards a school’s performance in the education league tables, ACME is concerned that many schools will simply not offer the second GCSE. ACME wants to see at least 60 per cent of students entered for both GCSEs. It held a conference in February to consider all aspects of current curriculum reform in mathematics for students aged 14-19 and further details can be found at www.acme-uk.org
National curriculum consultation for students aged 11-14
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:19:36 +0100: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) launched the key stage 3 consultation in early February. The aim of the new proposed programmes of study is to give teachers a more flexible and less prescribed framework for teaching in order to allow them greater freedom to tailor the curriculum to the needs of individual students. The mathematics programme of study contains many explicit references to statistics. The role of probability in describing risk and uncertainty is cited as an example of a current application of mathematics and the ability to look at data to find patterns and exceptions is one of the key processes. Statistics is one of the three areas listed in the ‘Range and content’ section, the others being number and algebra, and geometry and measures. The consultation runs until 30 April and more details can be found at www.qca.org.uk/secondarycurriculumreview/
Blackwell update
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:19:03 +0100: Blackwell have provided an order form for Fellows to use to obtain the 20 per cent discount on their publications. The form can be downloaded from http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/SMDOOBP.pdf.
Changes at ISLP
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:18:32 +0100: The International Statistical Literacy Project (ISLP) of IASE has a new director, Juana Sanchez, jsanchez@stat.ucla.edu. The project strives to provide the most comprehensive source of information on statistical literacy resources in the world. There is also a new location for the project web site which can now be found at http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/islp/. This website is wiki based and colleagues are encouraged to register and to post statistical literacy resources directly. Both registration and access are free.
ICMI/ IASE study update
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:17:49 +0100: The deadline for receiving papers for possible presentation at the conference (at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores, Monterrey, Mexico from 30 June to 4 July 2008) is 1 October. The Discussion Document, guidelines for authors and details of the venue are available at the study web page at http://www.ugr.es/~icmi/iase_study/ . Only the authors of accepted papers will invited to attend the Conference. Proceedings will be published by ICMI and IASE as a CD-ROM and on the Internet.
IASE Review for 2006
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:17:11 +0100: The International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) publishes an annual report about its activities in the previous year. The IASE Review 2006 is now available from http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/ by following the link to publications, selecting ‘IASE Review’ and looking at the current issue.
Plagiarism in Statistics Assessment project
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:16:32 +0100: The Mathematics, Statistics and Operational Research Network has funded the Plagiarism in Statistics Assessment (PiSA) project. The project intends to conduct a survey of HE lecturers in Statistics to find out what methods of assessment and strategies to deter plagiarism are being employed currently, and to identify and synthesise elements of good practice. The findings of the survey will be disseminated widely. The project team are Penny Bidgood (Kingston), Neville Hunt (Coventry), Brad Payne (Nottingham Trent) and Vanessa Simonite (Oxford-Brookes) and they would like readers to send instances of good practice to vsimonite@brookes.ac.uk. A discussion list has also been created. For more details see http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/PISA.html
Coursework in school mathematics
Wed, 9 May 2007 09:15:49 +0100: Following the recent decision to discontinue coursework in GCSE Mathematics from September, Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) have produced a position paper to promote general discussion to inform national policy. This can be found at www.mei.org.uk, then follow the link to position papers.
ASLU Conference 2007.
Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:57:38 +0100: The Association of Statistics Lecturers in Universities (ASLU), was founded in 1983 to foster and support the development of statistical education. This year ASLU, in conjunction with the Education Strategy Group at the Royal Statistical Society , is holding its 1-day conference “Developments of Statistical Education in Higher Education since 2000” at Errol Street on Wednesday 23rd May 2007.
The purpose of the meeting is to highlight issues concerning teaching statistics in Higher Education and how this can respond to a changing student intake and the knowledge and skills required by employers.
The day is packed with 6 interesting speakers, each talking about recent developments in statistical education. We are pleased to have Fred Smith (The Teaching of Statistics in UK Universities), Charles Taylor, (Is R teaching effective?) Neville Hunt, (Deterring Plagiarism in Statistics Assessment), Richard Gadsden (SIGMA: The CETL in Mathematics and Statistics Support; What is it doing for Statistics?), Ann Ooms (Assessment Resource Tools for Improving Statistical Thinking (ARTIST))
and John Holden (Developments in Statistical Software since 2000 (focussing on Microsoft Excel and NAG’s Excel related products)) as our speakers.
The cost is £40 for the day including registration, lunch and refreshments. Further details can be obtained from Penny Bidgood at bidgood@kingston.ac.uk.
SERJ editor
Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:56:57 +0100: The Statistics Education Research Journal is now searching for a new
co-editor. Nominations should be submitted as soon as possible and review
will begin March 31. For additional in formation please go to the web site
http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/ and follow the link to the call for nominations
PiSA- Plagiarism in Statistics Assessment
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:01:45 +0100: There is much concern in British Higher Education Institutions that instances of plagiarism (the passing of someone else’s work as though it were one’s own) are on the increase. In response to this, assessment has become more focussed on traditional examination and/or on-line testing using large question banks and randomly created tests. Whilst they may be appropriate in many disciplines, these types of testing fail to address some important learning outcomes in Statistics, not least the ability of students to analyse a set of data appropriately and report results effectively. However, giving students the same data to analyse has serious risks of plagiarism, either in the analysis, or in the reporting. Group work, which is used to give students opportunities to develop team skills, has its own plagiarism problems. Various strategies have been developed by some lecturers to try to minimise the possibility of plagiarism in Statistics - for example, giving each student a unique random sample from a larger data set or developing methodologies to allocate marks fairly in group work.
The Mathematics, Statistics and Operational Research Network has funded the Plagiarism in Statistics Assessment (PiSA) project, which aims:
1. to survey HE lecturers in Statistics to find out what methods of assessment and strategies to deter plagiarism are being employed currently;
2. to identify and synthesise elements of good practice;
3. to disseminate findings widely.
The project team are Penny Bidgood (Kingston), Neville Hunt (Coventry), Brad Payne (Nottingham Trent) and Vanessa Simonite (Oxford-Brookes).
If you have some good practice in plagiarism detection or deterrence that you would like to share and/or if you would be willing to discuss your concerns about the effect plagiarism is having in Statistics assessments, please contact Vanessa Simonite (vsimonite@brookes.ac.uk) in the first instance.
Also, look out for the JISC discussion list which has been created to facilitate discussion on this project. http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/PISA.html
Statistics Teacher Network
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:01:17 +0100: The Statistics Teacher Network is a newsletter published three times a year by a joint committee of the American Statistical Association and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Interested readers can find the current issue, and many back issues, on the website http://www.amstat.org/education/stn/index.html.
INSPIRE Course
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:00:48 +0100: INSPIRE is a two year course designed for high school Advanced Program statistics teachers to improve their skills in statistics. The course is the result of a joint effort between California Polytechnic State University, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the American Statistical Association and consists of an initial one week workshop followed by distance learning. Successful graduates of the course are awarded university level credits. Interested readers should go to http://inspire.stat.ucla.edu/ for more information.
ICOTS Proceedings
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:00:02 +0100: Proceedings from ICOTS 3, ICOTS 5, ICOTS 6 and ICOTS 7 are all now available on the IASE website. To find them go to http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/, follow the link to publications and they are listed in the left hand column. Volunteers are also being sought to help with the scanning of more archival material for this site and they should make contact with s.cope@stat.auckland.ac.nz.
ISI/ IASE 2009
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:59:30 +0100: The 57th Session of the International Statistical Institute will be held in South Africa in August 2009. The general theme of the IASE strand for ISI 2009 is Statistics Education for the Future. Suggestions and ideas for invited sessions for the IASE strand are currently being sought. Please send your suggestions to the chair (Helen MacGillivray ) at h.macgillivray@qut.edu.au .
ICMI/ IASE study
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:58:48 +0100: The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) and the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) have announced announce a joint study on Statistics Education in School Mathematics: Challenges for Teaching and Teacher Education.
The conference part of this will be merged with the IASE 2008 Round Table Conference at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores, Monterrey, Mexico from 30 June 30 to 4 July 2008. Participation in the Conference is only by invitation, based on a submitted contribution and a refereeing process. See www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase for more details.
RSS/ Education Leeds day for teachers
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:58:09 +0100: West Yorkshire Police will be hosting this jointly organised day on 28 February in Wakefield. The theme is ‘Crime Data Solutions for the Classroom’ and the day comprises talks, workshops and hand-on sessions. Aimed at teachers of students aged 14-19, it will focus on incorporating real data into teaching, specifically the use of crime statistics and data used by the police authorities. See rss.org.uk/education for further details.
Bowland Trust Initiative
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:57:32 +0100: Last September, organisations were invited to bid to develop mathematical projects, taking three to five hours to complete, that would promote 11-14 year old students’ engagement with the subject. Over 200 ideas were submitted, which have been reduced to a shortlist of about 45. An announcement is expected in January of a final 25, which will each attract up to £50 000 development funding. The finished products will be published to schools by the DfES in 2008. Whilst a complete list of the projects shortlisted has not been published, we hear that a number of them, and not least those submitted by the RSS Centre for Statistical Education, have statistical themes.
RSS schools’ workshops
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:56:47 +0100: Two workshops were held in November, bringing the total for 2006 to five. Both of these had a business flavour and were organised in co-operation with Education Business Partnerships (EBP). A half-day for Year 11 students at Pudsey Grangefield High School, Leeds saw the participation of the Operational Research Society for the first time in one of the workshops and we hope this will be the start of mutually beneficial co-operative outreach into schools. Peter Dick ran a session to show how the Department of Health used a statistical model to inform their planning for the possibility of bird flu breaking out in the UK population and James Nicholson ran a session on the interpretation of data, and on using pivot tables in Excel to explore complex data. Thanks to Jacky Haines, Education Leeds EBP, for her help in organising the event.
In line with the policy of trying to achieve a broad geographical coverage with the workshop programme, the last event of the year was in Cornwall, and thanks go to David Clewlow of the Cornwall EBP for his help in setting up the day at Saltash Community School. Simon Purton, of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, ran a session on Decision Making in the Ministry of Defence, which he has run for us at other workshops. Bill Gibson from the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle made a welcome debut as a presenter in the workshop programme with an activity where the pupils undertook a simple full factorial design experiment – and looked at how the design allowed the effects of three factors to be seen. James Nicholson had teams of pupils decide where to spend a large advertising budget to promote a new CD, using statistical information about the effectiveness of different advertising media and the costs of placing advertisements to make their decisions.
The programme for 2007 is being planned and we hope to run workshops for primary school pupils for the first time. Secondary workshops are under negotiation for Kent, Yorkshire, Essex, Hampshire and Cornwall. Any other schools interested in hosting a workshop should contact James Nicholson at j.r.nicholson@durham.ac.uk for further details and to discuss possible dates. James would also like to hear from anyone interested in taking part in the workshop programme as a presenter.
New statistical activities from the RSS Centre for Statistical Education (RSSCSE)
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:56:00 +0100: As part of their work with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on the Handling Data strand of the Mathematics National Curriculum, the RSSCSE has published eight activities for use with students aged 11-16. They have been trialled in a range of schools across the country. Each activity contains teacher guidance, presentation materials (electronic and paper versions) and pupil worksheets. In addition the website contains links to real data which can be downloaded as random samples. Topics include ‘Virtual Reality Gloves’ and ‘How old is your height?’. They can be found at http://www.rsscse.org.uk/qca/resources0.htm .
What is SOCR?
Mon, 8 Jan 2007 13:00:14 +0100: The goals of the Statistics Online Computational Resource (SOCR) are to design, validate and freely disseminate knowledge. The resource specifically provides portable online aids for probability and statistics education, technology-based instruction and statistical computing. It includes a repository of interactive applets, computational and graphing tools, and instructional and course materials. For more information see http://www.socr.ucla.edu/. Readers who are interested in this item will also find the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE) website worth a visit, http://www.causeweb.org/
GAISE
Mon, 8 Jan 2007 12:59:34 +0100: Anyone interested in the final report of the ‘Guidelines for assessment and instruction in statistics education’ project, which was funded by the American Statistical Association, should follow the link http://www.amstat.org/education/gaise/
USCOTS 07
Mon, 8 Jan 2007 12:58:49 +0100: The United States Conference on Teaching Statistics will be held on 17-19 May, at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, hosted by CAUSE, the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education. The target audience for USCOTS is teachers of undergraduate and the Advanced Program statistics from any discipline or type of institution. Teachers of statistics at two-year colleges and those planning a career in statistics education are especially encouraged to attend. The theme of the conference is "Taking statistics teaching to the next level." To register, or for more information, visit www.causeweb.org/uscots
Double award Mathematics GCSE
Mon, 8 Jan 2007 12:57:33 +0100:
A letter from Andrew Adonis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) setting out the preferred option for the double award GCSE is now in the public domain, via the QCA website (www.qca.org.uk).
There will be two free-standing single GCSEs, with the first incorporating functional skills, taken by all students and sufficient to support study to A level and beyond. The second is to be a ‘further maths’ qualification, aimed at higher achievers and more motivated students, with similar content to the first GCSE but from a more structural, abstract and theoretical perspective. It is nevertheless expected to cover the full range of GCSE grades, from G to A*.
Where statistics will fit in this model is yet to be made clear. In his report ‘Making Mathematics Count’, Adrian Smith called for a double award, at higher tier only, to be considered on the grounds of the wide belief of pupils and teachers that the amount of effort required to gain a single GCSE in mathematics was comparable to that required for a double award in science, or awards in both English and English literature. If the first of the new GCSEs is to contain all the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for study at A level, it is hard to see how the effort required will be reduced. However, if students do not meet the ‘why’ of mathematics until the second GCSE, which is not a pre-requisite for A level study, it is hard to see how they will be adequately prepared. The risks to take-up and success at A level and beyond are self evident and will need careful management as the details of the two new GCSEs are worked out.
Association of Statistics Lecturers in Universities (ASLU) Project Prize Education
Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:57:47 +0100: The ASLU projects were judged by Professor Bal Chansarkar of Middlesex University and Dr R Gadsden of Loughborough University. The judges were quite impressed by the standard achieved and efforts made by the students in analysis and building models. There was a good mix of topics selected though some were highly theoretical with little or no applications. The first prize of £200 was awarded to Miss Sarah Dearling of the University of Surrey for her project 'The Benchmark Dose Method'. The second prize of £100 was awarded to Mr Andrew Palmer of the University of Readindg for his project 'Predicting the nitrogen content of manure using spectroscoipc calibration'. The third prize of £50 was awarded to Mr Andrew Affoo of the City of London University for his project 'A Statistical analysis of sailing handicaps’.
ICOTS 7 proceedings
Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:57:10 +0100: The proceedings of the ICOTS 7 conference are now freely available from the publications site of the IASE website http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/ .
(untitESRC funding opportunities led)
Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:56:37 +0100: The Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) provides funding opportunities, many of which could be of interest to statisticians. To view these, and for more information, go to the ESRC website http://www.esrc.ac.uk and follow the links to 'Funding Opportunities' and 'Forthcoming Funding Opportunities'
Review of statistics teaching in higher education
Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:55:57 +0100: Fred Smith and Laura Staetsky have undertaken a review of statistics teaching in higher education. A meeting to discuss the outcomes will be held from 2.00 to 4.30 pm on 13 December at Errol Street. The review is an important one for the constituency and the discipline and should influence future policy in this area. If you cannot attend the meeting, its outcomes will be reported at www.rss.org.uk/education .
Blackwell discounts
Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:55:14 +0100: Some fellows may not realise that they can obtain a 20 per cent discount on Teaching Statistics and other Blackwell journals
RSS schools’ workshops
Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:54:35 +0100: Eaton Bank School, in Congleton, Cheshire hosted the first of this term’s workshops on Friday 13 October with 85 students, mostly Year 10, from Eaton Bank, Wilmslow High and Holmes Chapel schools.
Chris du Feu worked with population estimation, simulating the standard capture-recapture method for animals, using lentils in practical activities. Discussions of the reliability of estimates from different sized samples, of why estimates are needed in this context, of how to identify cases where the standard assumptions were violated – and how one might treat them – and of what happens when you get a zero count in the recapture phase meant that the students had exposure to many of the key big ideas in statistics.
Sean McCusker ran a computer-based session on modelling disease and understanding parameters. Two basic transmission mechanisms were explored, one based on spread over a geographical area mimicking an airborne disease and the other on a person-to-person transmission. The variability of outcome for the same set of parameter values and the effects of modifying different parameters were explored in a series of activities, which initially structured the exploration quite tightly and then offered more open-ended questions.
James Nicholson worked with a number of large data sets in different contexts to explore different ways of representing data and the interpretation of more complex data. For each context, different plausible explanations of the relationships displayed in the data were generated and the focus was then on the last stage of the handling data cycle – reviewing how the study might have been improved and what other data might have been collected.
Four further workshops are planned for this term, in Leeds, Derbyshire and two in Cornwall. Negotiations are underway for workshops next year in Kent, Yorkshire, Dorset and London, and there are plans for the first primary school workshop, near Nottingham. Any schools interested in hosting a workshop should contact James Nicholson in the first instance at j.r.nicholson@durham.ac.uk and anyone who feels they could contribute to the programme as a session presenter is invited to contact James to find out more of what is involved and explore possibilities.
C Oswald George prize
The C Oswald George prize for the best article of the year in Teaching Statistics has been awarded to Frank Duckworth, editor of RSS NEWS, for his two-part article ‘Lies & Statistics’.
The editorial board of Teaching Statistics, who decide upon the award, described the article as ‘very stimulating in containing a large number of ideas that should be of direct usefulness to teachers in the classroom’. Teaching Statistics is an international journal aimed at teachers of students aged 9 – 19. Further details may be found at http://www.rsscse.org.uk/ts.
The article was based on Frank’s 2004 RSS Schools Lecture which he gave at 14 schools around the country. The lecture started out as a talk to local interest groups and attempted to put together many of the standard misconceptions about statistics, ranging from interpretation of the correlation between birth rates and the numbers of storks nests to how to increase your expected winnings on the national lottery. Information on the lecture service is at http://www.rss.org.uk/main.asp?page=1918
The article, along with all others that have recently won the prize, will be available for free download from Blackwells’ ‘synergy’ website, http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/.
Primary mathematics framework
Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:53:54 +0100: The new framework for teaching mathematics in primary schools was launched in October, in electronic format. There are fewer objectives and these have been grouped in seven ‘strands of learning’. These are: using and applying mathematics, counting and understanding number, knowing and using number facts, calculating, understanding shape, measuring and handling data. In handling data, seven year-olds are expected to answer a question by collecting and recording data in lists and tables, represent the data as block graphs or pictograms to show results and use ICT to organise and present data. Eleven year-olds are expected to describe and predict outcomes from data using the language of chance or likelihood. For more details see www.standards.dfes.gov.uk and follow the links.
Functional mathematics standards
The most recent version of the functional mathematics standards can be downloaded from the QCA website. Go to http://www.qca.org.uk/, use the search facility at the top of the page to search for ‘functional skills’ and then select the link to ‘Functional skills standards’. This will take you to a page from which a pdf file can be downloaded.
Undergraduate Statistics Project Competition (USPROC)
Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:36:30 +0100: The Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education has announced its first biennial undergraduate statistics project competition (USPROC). The purpose of USPROC is to encourage the development of data analysis skills; to enhance presentation skills; and to recognise outstanding work by undergraduate statistics students. The authors of the top three projects will receive monetary prizes and will be invited to present their posters at the United States Conference on Teaching Statistics (USCOTS) in May 2007. See the website, http://www.causeweb.org/usproc.php, for further details.
HEA MSOR Day Break courses
Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:36:00 +0100: The successful series of Day Break courses run by the HEA Maths, Stats & OR Network will continue into a fifth year. In 2007 they will be offering an assortment of courses tailored to the interests and needs of participants or specialised groups. Further details, and a request for input from the statistics community, can be found on the website http://www.rsscse.org.uk/msor/ by following the link to the Day Break programme.
ISI/IASE Satellite Conference on assessing student learning in statistics
Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:35:24 +0100: This meeting will be held on 19-21 August 2007 in Guimarães, Portugal immediately before ISI 56 in Lisbon. This satellite conference invites papers on all aspects of assessing student learning in statistics. The organisers expect to have papers on writing effective exam questions; on exam implementation strategies; and on alternative assessment methods such as projects, lab assignments, and writing assignments. They also encourage submissions on how to use assessment to improve student learning, and on developing and administering assessments items to conduct research into student learning. For more information go to the website http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/ and follow the link to ISI 56.
The fifth SRTL research forum
Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:34:54 +0100: The Statistical Reasoning, Thinking and Literacy (SRTL) forums began in 1999 to foster current and innovative research studies that examine the nature and development of statistical literacy, reasoning, and thinking. They seek to explore the challenge posed to statistics educators at all levels in developing desired learning goals for students. The SRTL forums offer scientific gatherings every two years and related publications in journals, CD-ROMs and books. The fifth international research forum, SRTL-5, will take place at the University of Warwick in August 2007. Further details can be found on the STRL website http://srtl.stat.auckland.ac.nz/
Geography and people
Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:34:20 +0100: A Statistics User Forum member, the Market Research Society, is holding a one-day seminar to bring together experts from both the academic and commercial sectors to talk from their alternative perspectives on a series of common topics relating to ‘Geography and People’. The seminar is on 27 November and more information is available from: http://www.mrs.org.uk/ by following the link to geography and people.
CERME 5
Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:33:45 +0100: The fifth Conference of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME) is being organised by the European Society for Research in Education. The conference is designed to foster a communicative spirit and moves away from research presentations by individuals towards collaborative group work. Its main feature is to be a number of thematic groups whose members will work together in a common research area. Group 5 is about stochastic thinking and includes epistemological and educational issues; pupils’ cognitive processes and difficulties; and curriculum issues. More information about the conference can be found on the website http://www.cyprusisland.com/cerme
ICOTS7
Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:33:03 +0100: The seventh International Conference on Teaching Statistics took place in Salvador, Brazil in early July. A report on the success of the conference will appear in the November issue of MSOR Connections, http://mathstore.ac.uk/newsletter/ and the proceedings will appear soon on the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) website http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/ following the link to publications.
New criteria for A level courses
Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:32:20 +0100: New criteria have been published by QCA for A levels taught from September 2008. Most A levels will be reduced to four units but there will be no change to Mathematics, because of the changes introduced in 2004. There will therefore continue to be four units, four in pure mathematics and two in applications, including statistics. How performance ‘above grade A’ will be recognised has still been left open. Three options will be tested: harder questions at the end of the papers; mixing harder questions into the papers; and having the harder question in a separate paper, as is currently the case with the advanced extension award.
Coursework in GCSE examinations
Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:31:37 +0100: At the Labour party conference the Secretary of State for Education, Alan Johnson, announced major changes to the rules governing coursework at GCSE. More details will follow from QCA, but initial indications are that coursework will be removed from mathematics, probably for students starting the course next September. In other subjects, coursework must be supervised in classroom style conditions. The position of GCSE Statistics is not yet clear.
Association of Statistics Lecturers in Universities (ASLU) Project Prize
Fri, 15 Sep 2006 08:02:33 +0100: ASLU awards annual prizes for undergraduate projects in statistics or OR. The criteria against which projects are judged are: the student’s capacity for independent thought and work, the integrity of the methodology and theory, applicability of results, impact in terms of novelty and communication.
The ASLU committee would like to encourage more institutions of higher education to submit projects for consideration. These would typically be third year undergraduate projects taken as part of the final year during 2005-2006 Students can win £200, £100 or £50 for first, second and third prize respectively.
Projects (no more than two per university) for this year’s competition should be sent, by Friday 22nd October 2006, to Professor Bal Chansarkar, Middlesex University Business School, The Burroughs, London NW1 4BT, who is heading the award committee.
Unfortunately, ASLU will be unable to return projects. Winning projects may be displayed at future ASLU conferences as examples of good practice.
Call for Nominations: Director of the International Statistical Literacy Project
Fri, 15 Sep 2006 08:01:12 +0100: The International Statistical Literacy Project (ISLP) is an IASE project with a mission of providing those interested in statistical literacy with information and resources and to aid them in the development of statistical literacy around the world. To date the main focus of the project has been on the development of a series of webpages providing users with resources that are useful for the development of statistical literacy at all levels from Primary/Elementary School through Adult Learners. The ISLP website can be found at http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/ by following the link at the bottom of the page.
For more information about the search process, or to submit a nomination, please contact the Chair of the Search Committee, Chris Wild, (U. of Auckland. NZ):
Statistics Education Research Journal (SERJ)
Fri, 16 Jun 2006 09:19:52 +0100: SERJ is a peer-reviewed electronic journal of the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) and the International Statistical Institute (ISI). SERJ is published twice a year and is free. The latest issue can be found at http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/serj .
The Sigma CETL
Thu, 8 Jun 2006 09:59:39 +0100:
The Sigma Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) in mathematics and statistics support is based at Coventry and Loughborough Universities. The Coventry Centre is currently advertising for a PhD student in “Enhancing Mathematics and Statistics Support with Innovative Uses of Technology” and the Loughborough Centre is advertising for a PhD student in “Strategies for Teaching and Learning Statistics”, a research project that aims to identify and evaluate pedagogic approaches to statistics education. Further details can be found by following the link http://www.sigma-cetl.ac.uk/ .
Evaluating Mathematics Provision for 14-19-year-olds
Thu, 8 Jun 2006 09:58:48 +0100: Ofsted visited 26 schools, sixth form colleges and general further education colleges to determine the main factors leading to high achievement, motivation and participation in 14-19 mathematics, and the factors which act against high achievement. The findings are intended to contribute to the debate on the future of mathematics education in England, following the publication of the Smith Report Making mathematics count.
This report draws principally on the outcomes of these inspections, but also on other relevant Ofsted inspection evidence. Its findings are illustrated by examples of good and of less effective practice and the report can be found by following the link http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/pressreleases/ following the link to the press release numbered 2006-11 and selecting the “Related publication” on the right hand side of the page.
Assessing Student Learning in Statistics
Thu, 8 Jun 2006 09:57:57 +0100:
IASE, the International Association for Statistical Education, is organizing a satellite conference to the ISI 2007 meeting in Portugal. The satellite conference will take place in Guimarães between 19th and 21st August 2007. Papers are invited on all aspects of assessing student learning in statistics. Further details can be found on the website http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/ by following the link to “IASE 56”.
Bring Mathematics to Life
Thu, 8 Jun 2006 09:57:06 +0100: Plus magazine has launched a “Plus new writers award” to find people who can bring mathematics alive. The competition is open to new writers of any age and from any background who can explain a mathematical topic or application they think the public
needs to know about. The winning entries will be read by an international audience of over a hundred thousand in the December issue of Plus, and the prize pool includes an iPod. The closing date is September 31st 2006, and more information on the competition can be found on the Plus site, http://plus.maths.org/ , by following the link to “Enter the Plus new writers award!”
QCA futures: blue skies
Mon, 8 May 2006 11:21:35 +0100: In February Harvey Goldstein, on behalf of the Society, contributed a 'blue skies' paper to the QCA’s Futures Project. In it he explored possible future roles for statistical learning within the English National CCurriculum. Fellows can access the full paper from the Society's web pages at http://www.rss.org.uk/ by following the links to EdEducation and Qualifications > Education > Curriculum > QCA futures: a strategic look at the curriculum.
NCETM update
Mon, 8 May 2006 11:20:55 +0100: The Centre is currently in the process of recruiting nine regional coordinators and the full advertisement for these posts can be viewed on the its website http://www.ncetm.org.uk/ by following the Regional Coordinators link.
Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme (UAS)
Tue, 2 May 2006 09:44:38 +0100: A DVD is now available featuring interviews with academic staff, teachers and undergraduates who have taken part in UAS, and shows them discussing the benefits of being involved, the issues they encountered and how these were overcome as well as explaining exactly why they would recommend the scheme to others. The DVD is available free of charge through the UAS website at www.uas.ac.uk or by emailing Brian.Lockwood@uas.ac.uk.
The RSS Certificate in Teaching Statistics in Higher Education
Tue, 2 May 2006 09:43:56 +0100: There are many types of people involved in the teaching of statistics in higher education. As well as university full time lecturers in statistics or mathematics departments, there are many part-time and temporary staff, graduate students and researcher staff also involved in teaching statistics.
Statistics is also widely taught in many areas ranging from archaeology, through geography to Medicine or Psychology. Many lecturers and teachers have not had the opportunity to formally study the teaching of statistics, but have been ‘thrown in at the deep end’.
The aim of the RSS Certificate in Teaching Statistics in Higher Education is to provide a distance-learning course that supports and meets the needs of all such staff and offers them a professional base for teaching statistics.
The course is validated by both the Royal Statistical Society and the Higher Education Academy. Obtaining the Certificate enables statistics teachers to be put on the HEA register as Associate Practitioners. The passing of the course may also enable holders of the Certificate to have it counted towards an assessment of prior learning or treated as an accredited unit in a university Induction Programme, Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma or Masters degree.
For further details on course content, registration and fees please look at the website http://www.rsscse.org.uk/tsihe/ or telephone +44 (0)115 848 8301.
The Teaching of Statistics in British Universities
Tue, 2 May 2006 09:42:54 +0100: The Teaching Statistics Trust and the Committee of Professors of Statistics (COPS) have provided funding for an investigation into the current state of teaching of Statistics in British Universities and has asked Professor T M F Smith to undertake this task. The broad remit of the project is to examine the current extent, levels and emphases in undergraduate and postgraduate statistics teaching, in which university departments it is taught and to what levels and numbers of students. The aim will be to provide a source of information on current and changing university Statistics teaching as a basis for future debate on continuing provision and requirements in the changing climate of the British university scene. The current situation will be placed in context by examining the changes and influences over the last 20 years. This initial stage of the investigation was completed in February 2006 and the next stage will involve a questionnaire survey of university departments in which statistics is taught.
GCSE mathematics coursework consultation
Tue, 2 May 2006 09:42:05 +0100: Last year, QCA carried out a coursework review. Mathematics teachers who were surveyed thought that existing coursework did not provide a reliable and valid method of assessment for the subject. As a result, QCA has carried out a further consultation on the immediate future of coursework in GCSE mathematics. The consultation set out options for change within the context of other changes in GCSE mathematics:
· September 2006 – introduction of a two-tier assessment model for GCSE mathematics, in place of the current three-tier, with the same mathematical content as at present. First examination 2008
· September 2010 – two new GCSE specifications in mathematics. One of these will follow the key stage 4 programme of study, include functional mathematics and be taken by most students. It may contain internal assessment. First examination 2012.
In the light of these changes to GCSE, any change to coursework prior to 2010 resulting from this consultation will be applicable for a relatively short period: teaching from 2007–9 leading to 2009–11 examinations. The current coursework element of GCSE mathematics accounts for 20% of total marks, equally distributed between two separate tasks: using and applying mathematics (10%) and handling data (10%). The handling data task has been often criticised by teachers, because of the difficulty in interpreting the assessment framework and a sense that the board exemplar tasks do not allow for much creativity. However many statisticians would argue that the only valid and reliable way to assess statistics is through using it to solve a real problem. If coursework were to go, then so too would the opportunity to introduce 14-16 year olds to the excitement of reasoning with large sets of real data, that are of genuine interest to them.
National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics
Tue, 2 May 2006 09:40:45 +0100: The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) is a major new initiative by the Department for Education and Skills to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching. It is being established in response to recommendations in Professor Adrian Smith's report 'Making Mathematics Count'. David Burghes, Professor of Mathematics Education at Plymouth University and Director of the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching, has been appointed as the Director of the Centre. On Tuesday 27th June 2006 Coventry’s TechnoCentre will host the NCETM launch Conference. There will be a keynote speech which it is hoped will be delivered by Alan Johnson, the new Secretary for State for Education and Skills. The Centre is for all teachers and lecturers of mathematics, in all phases of education. Working with the wider mathematics community, it will facilitate, enhance and provide strategic direction and leadership for all aspects of continuing professional development in mathematics.
Do You Know Your Departmental Contact?
Fri, 31 Mar 2006 08:19:18 +0100: The Maths, Stats & OR Network aims to have a main contact within every UK Higher Education Mathematics, Statistics and Operation Research department. This is a two-way role whereby the Network communicates information relevant to the staff within the department via this contact, but equally, we like to hear from them with regard to what is happening in relation to learning, teaching and assessment. In addition, we also like to
hear from our main contacts ways in which the Network could potentially offer support to their department as a whole. The departmental contact receives mailings and information in addition to that contained within MSOR Connections.
If you are not aware as to who your departmental main contact is, then please ask around. If your department does not have a main contact and you wish to nominate yourself for the role, then please contact M.J.Grove@bham.ac.uk, so that you can be added to our main contacts database. This will ensure that your department remains up to date with the latest developments in Network activity.
ICOTS-7
Thu, 30 Mar 2006 13:10:26 +0100: The International Association for Statistical Education and the International Statistical Institute are organizing the seventh international conference on teaching statistics, which will be hosted by the Brazilian statistical association in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, July 2-7 2006. The conference theme is “Working cooperatively in statistics education”.
Full details of the programme and on-line registration are now available on the conference website http://www.maths.otago.ac.nz/icots7.
Third Radical Statistics critical essay 2006
Thu, 30 Mar 2006 13:09:26 +0100: Speak your mind and win a prize! Submit an original essay, 3,000 words maximum, by 1 May 2006 that addresses a current social research/policy question, with critical use and interpretation of relevant data sources. First prize is £300 and second prize is £200. There are two categories of entry, Student or Open, awarded on the basis of readability, clear presentation of statistical material and convincing argument.
Age and experience will taken into account when judging. The judges are Simon Briscoe , Len Cook, Ruth Levitas, Denise Lievesley and Susan Starkings
The essay awarded first prize will be featured on the Radical Statistics website and published on 1 July 2006. More detailed information can be found on the website www.radstats.org.uk.
Applications are encouraged well before the deadline. Send your essay by email, labelled ‘Radstats Critical Essay’, include your full name, address, age and number of