The term `cartoons' usually suggests humorous, animated drawings, along the lines of Mickey<br>Mouse or Charlie Brown. However, a much older use of the word refers to the prototypes or trial<br>drawings of artistic masters such as Michelangelo, in preparation for the finished work to follow.<br>In a broad sense, graphical insight into statistical ideas connects with both these meanings; the<br>aim is to give students a means of exploring concepts until they are comfortable with their roles,<br>while the ability to animate adds an extra dimension which can often spark additional interest and<br>which can sometimes raise a welcome smile.<br>This talk will discuss some of the ways on which animated graphics can help in the understanding<br>of statistical ideas at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels. The `rpanel' package for R<br>will be used as a vehicle but other systems will also be mentioned. Over the years there has been<br>considerable focus on illustrations of elementary statistical concepts and there are many good<br>examples at that level. However, the scope for tools addressing more advanced topics, such as<br>likelihood and spatial sampling, will also be discussed.<br>The advent of R as a standard computing environment in statistics, with increasing connectivity to<br>other systems, makes it entirely feasible for lecturers to construct their own cartoons, rather than<br>simply use those designed by others. The talk will argue for the importance of this mode of use.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education