http://thesocietypages.org/thickculture/2009/11/27/why-your-students-need-to-take-statistics/ A multi-disciplinary blog about what makes cultures "thick": public discourse, multiculturalism, technology, and civic engagement. Fri, 25 May 2012 06:01:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://thesocietypages.org/thickculture/2009/11/27/why-your-students-need-to-take-statistics/comment-page-1/#comment-6211 Roula Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:23:41 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/thickculture/?p=1957#comment-6211 Oh this is awesome, thank you. And dwaisane, that sounds like a really good class. Anyone in public policy school should have to take something like that, but also anyone taking a straight stats class should learn this sort of stuff as a complement I think. Oh this is awesome, thank you. And dwaisane, that sounds like a really good class. Anyone in public policy school should have to take something like that, but also anyone taking a straight stats class should learn this sort of stuff as a complement I think.

]]> http://thesocietypages.org/thickculture/2009/11/27/why-your-students-need-to-take-statistics/comment-page-1/#comment-6210 dwaisane Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:20:45 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/thickculture/?p=1957#comment-6210 Thanks for posting the chart above--best laugh I've had all week. I think you're right in treating statistics as a discourse. I've long thought that if I ever had to teach a statistics course, I would call it "statistics as public argument." I'd probably start with a week of qualitative approaches, talking about, for instance, how "stories" and "testimonies" are public arguments, and then get into how statistics are speech-act arguments, similarly holding power as a mode of reasoning linking evidence to claims in society. I had my students watch about 10 minutes of Michael Moore's "Sicko" this semester, and had them categorize what kinds of "evidence" were operating within the film. They seemed to walk away with a less mystified, more capable and critical understanding of how narratives, testimonies, statistics, etc. can and should operate (and blend) in public contexts as a result. DW Thanks for posting the chart above–best laugh I’ve had all week. I think you’re right in treating statistics as a discourse. I’ve long thought that if I ever had to teach a statistics course, I would call it “statistics as public argument.” I’d probably start with a week of qualitative approaches, talking about, for instance, how “stories” and “testimonies” are public arguments, and then get into how statistics are speech-act arguments, similarly holding power as a mode of reasoning linking evidence to claims in society. I had my students watch about 10 minutes of Michael Moore’s “Sicko” this semester, and had them categorize what kinds of “evidence” were operating within the film. They seemed to walk away with a less mystified, more capable and critical understanding of how narratives, testimonies, statistics, etc. can and should operate (and blend) in public contexts as a result. DW

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