Building the Numeracy Skills of Undergraduate and Elementary School Students

Abstract

This paper describes a project with the goal of exposing both elementary school and undergraduate students to the concepts associated with the experimental method, from the formulation of a researchable question to the analysis and interpretation of the results. Under the guidance of their university mentors, fourth and fifth grade students formulated a research question, designed an experiment to answer that inquiry, recorded the appropriate measurements, calculated the necessary statistics, created visual displays of their results, and interpreted their findings at a student-centered Numeracy Conference.

• Active learning
• Elementary statistics education
• Numeracy

Acknowledgments

This article is based on the project supported by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. The content of this article is that of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. PowerPoint and Excel are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. A special thanks is given to East Elementary in Athens, Ohio.