Teach 180: Stand and Talk, Again (Day 151)

I did some more "Stand and Talks" today during AP Statistics to review for the AP exam.  To begin class, I asked students to brainstorm a list of words associated with data collection (experiments and surveys).  Here is the list they created.  We didn't dwell on the words or their meanings at that point.

Next, I asked students to do a "Stand and Talk".  They were to pick a word that they weren't sure how to define.  Then, they were to stand up and find a partner across the room to discuss that word.  Like yesterday, the discussion was quite animated for about one minute.  There is something quite freeing about admitting that you don't know something to a fellow student.  (Admitting you don't know something is scarier to admit to your teacher or in front of the entire class.)  But once they shared their uncertainty with a friend, students were more willing to share with the class.  If you teach AP Stat, can you guess which words were problematic?  If you guessed strata (or stratified random assignment) and blocking, give yourself a pat on the back.