5 In The News
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Overview |
“In the News” discussions use examples from the media that present a statistic. Learners describe the limitations of taking statistics at face-value. |
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Rationale |
This activity helps learners to develop critical thinking by examining and researching statistics (or another discipline) in the media to learn “you cannot believe everything you see and hear in the news.” |
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When this works well |
The application of statistics in any discipline, but the focus is on evaluating the credibility of the statistical assertion. |
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Connections |
QM: 3.4, 3.5, 5.2, 6.3 UDL: 7.2, 8.1, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 6.3 |
Instructions for Learners and Faculty
Locate an article in the news that uses statistics to support a claim.
Describe the limitations of the statistics and what additional information you would want to see or know in order to determine the validity of the statistics.
Example
Discussion Thread
SUBJECT: Smarter Robots
I found this article in the news this week, researchers give robots intelligent sensing abilities to carry out complex tasks. A team of computer scientists and materials engineers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) developed a sensory integrated artificial brain system that mimics biological neural networks. This is crazy, like something out of a sci-fi movie. I want to know how this will improve the lives of humans in the future. The article’s limitations are… I want more information on…
RE: Smarter Robots
River, what an interesting article you posted for this week’s discussion. The article states that enabling a human-like sense of touch in robotics could significantly improve current functionality, and even lead to new uses. They give an example, on the factory floor, robotic arms fitted with electronic skins could easily adapt to different items, using tactile sensing to identify and grip unfamiliar objects with the right amount of pressure to prevent slipping. The robots can also identify the shape, texture and hardness of objects 10 times faster than the blink of an eye. I found this really cool TED Talk video for you on YouTube, Robots Among Us: Intelligent Machine Teammates | Julie Shah | TEDxMIT. It relates to your article and hopefully clears up some of the limitations you had on…. Hope you enjoy it!
References
Updated 7/21/2020 –
