Data from a cough challenge study are displayed with dot charts to demonstrate the importance of graphs in understanding data, principles of graph construction and visual perception. The data are available for use in the classroom.

Data analysis requires subtle probability reasoning to answer questions like "What is the chance of event A occurring, given that event B was observed?" This generic question arises in discussions of many intriguing scientific questions such as "What is the probability that an adolescent weighs between 120 and 140 pounds given that…

In introductory statistics courses, the concept of power is usually presented in the context of testing hypotheses about the population mean. We instead propose an exercise that uses a binomial probability table to introduce the idea of power in the context of testing a population proportion. (Contains 2 tables, and 2 figures.)

Spurred by recent writings regarding statistical pragmatism, we propose a simple, practical approach to introducing students to a new style of statistical thinking that models nature through the lens of data-generating processes, not populations. (Contains 5 figures.)

The use of The Three Stooges' films as a source of data in an introductory statistics class is described. The Stooges' films are separated into three populations. Using these populations, students may conduct hypothesis tests with data they collect.

This article presents activities appropriate for the first half of a general introductory statistics course. All activities revolve around the same data set collected early in the course. The activities require students to make decisions about how they should proceed. (Contains 2 tables and 5 figures.)

The term "data snooping" refers to the practice of choosing which statistical analyses to apply to a set of data after having first looked at those data. Data snooping contradicts a fundamental precept of applied statistics, that the scheme of analysis is to be planned in advance. In this column, the authors shall elucidate the…

The article illustrates how statistical content and pedagogical reasoning were taught in tandem in an undergraduate course. A typical day in the course is described. It is also suggested that practising teachers can benefit from strategies used in the course. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

This article illustrates using carbon emissions data in an introductory statistics assignment. The carbon emissions data has desirable characteristics including: choice of measure; skewness; and outliers. These complexities allow research and public policy debate to be introduced. (Contains 4 figures and 2 tables.)

This article describes an interactive activity that involves students participating in a memory recall test. Data collected from the activity may be used to illustrate the one-sample t test or one-sample sign test. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

The analysis and interpretation of data are important life skills. A poster challenge for schoolchildren provides an innovative outlet for these skills and demonstrates their relevance to daily life. We discuss our Statistics Poster Challenge and the lessons we have learned.

We describe an activity that allows students to experience the full process of a statistical investigation, from generating the research question, to collecting data and testing a hypothesis. Implementation of the activity is described both with and without use of clickers, handheld remotes that allow instant data collection.

This article addresses an important problem of graphing quantitative data: should one include zero on the scale showing magnitude? Based on a real time series example, the problem is discussed and some recommendations are proposed.

An in-class activity is described that can be used not only to motivate hypothesis testing, but also to understand and compute the p-value and power in a statistical test. (Contains 3 figures.)

This article tackles the problem of what should be done with real textual data that are contaminated by errors of recording, particularly when the data contain words that are misspelt, unintentionally or otherwise. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)