Lesson 7: What’s in a Question?

Lesson 7: What's in a Question?

Objective:

Students will be able to differentiate between statistical questions and survey questions. They will practice formulating both types of questions and understand the characteristics of good statistical questions. Students will be introduced to the Pose Questions phase of the Data Cycle.

Materials:

Data Cycle poster [pages 2 & 3] (LMR_U1_L01_B_The_Data_Cycle)
Statistical Questions Peer Review (LMR_U1_L07_A_Statistical_Questions_Peer_Review)

Vocabulary:

Pose Questions (phase) statistical questions

Essential Concepts:

Good questions are the starting point for any data investigation. The type of question asked determines the type of data needed and the scope of the investigation.

Lesson:

Opening

Lesson Hook: Quick Collection Challenge
1. Pose a simple question to students and ask them to come up with a single response based on their own experience. Suggested question: How many different states in the US have you visited?
2. You will ask students to give their answers quickly using one of two visual methods: (1) Stand and Share, or (2) Four Corners.
  1. Method 1: Stand and Share – Ask for groups to stand up based on their answer. Quickly call out the ranges and tally the results on the board.
    1. Ask “Who has been to 1 or 2 US states?” (Count hands)
    2. Ask “Who has been to 3 or 4 US states?” (Count hands)
    3. Ask “Who has been to 5 or 6 US states?” (Count hands)
    4. Ask “Who has been to more than 6 US states?” (Count hands)
  2. Method 2: Four Corners – Have locations in the room for the various responses and have students move to that part of the room.
3. Quick Discussion: Point to the collected counts on the board and ask, “Did everyone give the same answer to my question?” The answer will very likely be no.
  1. We have a lot of different answers, which means we have variation!
  2. We needed to collect data from each student in our class to see how we are similar and/or different.
  3. Explain that today’s lesson will help us identify and create questions that have many answers
Display the Data Cycle poster with only the Consider Data phase shown (LMR_U1_L01_B, page 2). Have students share out some of the ways we have considered data so far in our investigation.

LMR_U1_L01_B
Reveal and highlight today’s phase of interest: Pose Questions (LMR_U1_L01_B, page 3), and explain that, like any good detective, the DSU needs a clear direction. Asking an investigative question is the first step to finding a pattern. Today, we officially begin the Pose Questions phase of the Data Cycle.
Remind students that they learned about Survey Questions during Lesson 1, and pose the following questions:
1. What were some of the questions that were asked at each station?
  1. Sample answer: What is your favorite type of candy?
  2. Sample answer: How many books did you read over the summer?
2. Were those questions addressed to the class as a whole group, or were they addressed to individual students? Sample answer: Students answered the questions individually.
Emphasize that survey questions are posed to individuals, and each person provides 1 answer.
Explain that today, we're going to explore a different type of question we can ask when we want to learn about groups of people.

Concept Development

Part 1: Introducing Statistical Questions
Inform students that good detectives know that asking the right questions is one of the most important steps when solving a case. In a statistical investigation, we call these Statistical Questions. Share the definition below and have students record it in their notebooks.
1. Statistical Question: A Statistical Question is a question that leads to many different answers when you ask an entire group of people or measure a group of things. The key feature is that the answer varies (or changes) for each person or item in the group. Statistical questions are all about figuring out the patterns and characteristics of a whole group by measuring this variation.
2. Point out that having variability in answers is what makes a question statistical. A good way to determine if a question is a statistical question is to ask: “Do I need data from multiple individuals to answer this question?”
Display the following 2 questions on the board:
1. Question A: What is your favorite class? [Think about if you were Max from the suspect data cards; how would he answer this question?]
2. Question B: What is the favorite class of the suspects in the DSU data set?
Engage students in a Think-Ink-Pair-Share discussion about the differences they notice between Question A and Question B. Some guiding questions are provided here, and sample answers are given in the next step.
1. Who would you ask each question to?
2. What kind of answer would you expect?
3. How many responses would you need to collect to fully answer the question?
After pairs have discussed, bring the class back together and have a few volunteers share what differences they identified. Sample answers and ideas are provided below:
1. Question A:
  1. Sample answer: Question A is asked about one person.
  2. Sample answer: Question A has one answer (Max’s favorite class is Social Studies).
2. Question B:
  1. Sample answer: Question B is about the entire suspect list.
  2. Sample answer: Question B needs many answers to figure out a consensus on which class everyone likes.
  3. Sample answer: For Question B, we would expect different suspects to have different favorite classes (variability). We need many responses to come up with an answer.
  4. Sample answer: Question B might have a summary answer (“most suspects like X class”).
As students share out their findings, record some of the key differences on the board and have students do the same in their notebooks.
Explain that Question A and Question B are examples of Survey Questions and Statistical Questions. Ask students to make an educated guess about which question type matches Question A and which type matches Question B. Answer: Question A is a survey question and Question B is a statistical question.

Solidify the difference between survey questions and statistical questions by connecting them back to what the students observed during the Think-Ink-Pair-Share activity.

	ADDITIONAL SUPPORT: Add to the Anchor Chart for Vocabulary Terms Keep clear definitions and examples of Survey Questions and Statistical Questions displayed throughout the lesson. Use icons or simple drawings to help students distinguish between the 2 question types: Ex. Use a single person (🧍) for a survey question. Ex. Use a group of people (🧑‍🤝‍🧑) for a statistical question.

Survey Questions: These are questions we ask to gather information from individuals.
1. Connect to their observations:
  1. Question A is an example of a Survey Question because it asks about one person (Max).
  2. A survey question is what we might ask a witness during an interview for a case.
  3. The person responding can only give one specific value as their answer. For example, Max cannot choose English and Math as his favorite class.
  4. Survey questions help us collect raw data about individuals.

Statistical Questions: These are questions that require us to collect many observations before we can provide an answer.

Connect to their observations:

Question B is an example of a Statistical Question because it asks about a group of people (all 30 suspects).
A statistical question is like investigating the whole school to get the full story about the Candy Culprit.
We should anticipate that answers will vary (recall the term variability). For example, we don't expect every suspect to have the exact same favorite class.
Statistical questions require collecting data from multiple individuals to answer.

Enrichment or Extension:
Connect to Data Views in CODAP
Ask: Which type of question allows us to consider a single case-card in CODAP?
     Answer: Survey Questions
Ask: Which type of question requires us to consider the whole case-table in CODAP?
     Answer: Statistical Questions
Ask: Which type of question could be answered with data from a single case/row?
     Answer: Survey Questions
Ask: Which type of question could be answered with the entire case-table?
     Answer: Statistical Questions

Create a connection about how statistical questions can help us during the Candy Culprit investigation.
1. Remind students what information has been provided by the Candy Culprit from the previous clues:
  1. Clue #1: Chocolate candy was taken.
  2. Clue #2: There is mention of a “high GPA.”
2. As a class, come up with a statistical question related to Clue #1, and write it on the board. Sample answer: Which type of candy do suspects choose most often as their “favorite”?
3. As a class, come up with a statistical question related to Clue #2, and write it on the board. Sample answer: What is the typical GPA for 8th grade students?
Part 2: Creating Our Own Statistical Questions

Place students into small groups of size 3 or 4. They will engage in a Peer Review activity that is guided by the Statistical Questions Peer Review handout (LMR_U1_L07_A).

LMR_U1_L07_A

STRATEGY:
Randomly Assigning Students to Groups
Prepare card groups prior to class.As students come into class, have them draw a card at random. Once class begins, they must find the other students that match their card’s theme. Students can stay in this grouping arrangement for the day, week, or activity.
Sample cards using film and television characters:

Example 1: The Scooby Doo Gang [Shaggy, Fred, Vilma, Daphne].
Example 2: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo].
Example 3: Avengers [Ironman, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow].
Example 4: Toy Story [Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bo Peep, Mr. Potato Head].

Sample cards using generic categories:

Example 1: Instruments [Guitar, Piano, Drums, Trumpet].
Example 2: Colors [Red, Green, Blue, Purple].
Example 3: Shapes [Square, Circle, Triangle, Rectangle].
Example 4: Animals [Tiger, Rabbit, Fox, Deer].

For Step 1, challenge each group to generate 2 statistical questions related to our Candy Culprit investigation.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT:
Question Scaffolding for Question Generation
Before students work in groups, model the process of observing a data card using the Fishbowl strategy, verbalizing the thought process by identifying different pieces of information (potential variables).
Optional Sentence Starters for Diverse Learners
Provide sentence stems to help teams craft statistical questions:
Ex. What is the most/least common...?
Ex. How do the [Numerical Variable] values differ among the suspects

Once student teams have created their 2 statistical questions, they will swap papers with another group and engage in a Peer Review. Explain that detectives often have their work checked by colleagues to test their suspicions, so we want our detective classmates to check our questions before we interview any suspects. For each statistical question proposed, the review team must answer the following 3 questions and provide feedback:
1. Is it a statistical question? [Does it require collecting data from many cases, and do we expect the answers to vary?]
2. Is it relevant to our investigation? [Will answering this question lead us closer to identifying the Candy Culprit?]
3. What additional feedback do you have for this group?
Once the peer reviews are complete, the teams will return their papers to each other to discuss the feedback they received and make any necessary edits to their statistical questions.

Closing

Key Takeaway: Statistical questions are the drivers of data investigations. They set the direction, goal, and destination of the investigation.
Exit Ticket: Challenge students to convert each question below into a statistical one.
1. Question 1: What is your favorite video game?
  Sample statistical question: What are the most popular video games among students in our class?
2. Question 2: How many siblings do you have?
  Sample statistical question: What is the most common number of siblings for students in our class?
3. Question 3: What time do you usually wake up for school?
  Sample statistical question: What time do students in our class usually wake up on school days?

Lesson 7: What’s in a Question?