Resource Library

Statistics are to baseball what a flaky crust is to Mom's apple pie. is a quote by American television journalist Harry Reasoner (1923 - 1991). The quote was said in a story on the news magazine show, "60 minutes."

I can prove anything by statistics except the truth is a quote by British politician George Canning (1770 - 1827). The quote is found on page 587 of the 1908 book "Dictionary of Thoughts" edited by Tryon Edwards. The quote may be used to illustrate the idea that statistical inference is often geared toward demonstrating what is unlikely to be true rather than proving what is true.

February 9, 2010 T&L webinar presented by Hollylynne Lee (North Carolina State University) and Todd Lee (Elon University), and hosted by Jackie Miller (The Ohio State University). A model for probabilistic reasoning will be discussed that may support students' statistical reasoning. The development of the model and instructional implications are based on theoretical considerations and empirical results from work with middle grades students. Significant time for discussion is planned to get reactions to the model as well as to discuss aspects of probability that participants believe are foundational to building statistical literacy or reasoning.

This java applet provides students with opportunities to visualize the Monty Hall paradox (i.e., the famous "three-door" problem often discussed in introductory statistics courses). By going through the simulation and reading the accompanying materials, students can better understand concepts related to probability, and they can also see the need to gather data in order to test theories about what might happen under particular conditions (especially since the outcome of the Monty Hall problem tends to contradict students' initial intuitions).

A cartoon that can be used in teaching about random walks. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites.

A cartoon that can be used in teaching about Machine Learning estimation techniques. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites.

A cartoon that can be used in teaching about random walks. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites. (note - in the U.K. the word "redundancy" in labor statistics refers to people who have been laid-off because their job no longer exists).

A cartoon that can be used in teaching about forced choice survey questions. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites. (note - the Tower of Suurhusen with a tilt angle of 5.19 degrees is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as having the greatest title amongst all leaning towers in the world)

This tool provides individuals with opportunities to quiz themselves on levels of measurement in a game-like environment much like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire."

A cartoon to teach the importance of including error bars to show the level of chance variation - as opposed to showing only the possibly strong trend that might be shown by averages. The cartoon is #22 in the "Life in Research" series at www.vadio.com. Free to use with attribution in the classroom or on course websites.