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• I know it when you do
  it, but

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Two AP Statistics Writing ProjectsBalloon Help
TutorialsThe Math Annotation Project

• Robert Gerver, Ph.D.
• North Shore High School
• Glen Head, NY
• gerverr_at_northshoreschools.org

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What Are These Projects?

• They are writing projects designed to get the
  students comfortable with the frequent, specific,
  writing requirements kids are not used to in math
  classes.

• They require students to explain selected (or
  all) aspects of a solution to a problem or topic
  development enhancing it with anything they feel
  helps explain the material.

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How Do These Projects Differ?

• The Balloon Help Tutorials are poster projects.
  They will involve some arts and crafts as well as
  writing. They summarize a particular problems
  solution. They can be completed in groups or
  individually.
• The Math Annotation Project is done totally on a
  computer, and is a writing project designed to
  summarized one days worth of class notes and
  homework. It is best done individually.

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The Math Annotation Project Balloon Help in an
8 ½ by 11 Format

• Rotate students throughout the year, on a daily
  basis, to annotate one day of notes.
• Pick students randomly at end of period.
• Drafts can be required.
• Create a binder of every days notes.
• Binder is great if students are absent or missing
  notes, or to review.
• An alternative form of assessment.

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Benefits of the Writing Projects

• Develops habit of writing original, complete
  sentences.

• If you cant say it, you dont know it.

• Gets the writing practice frequent, consistent,
  and spaced throughout the year.

• Writing practice translates to better free
  response
• answers, since students get used to the required
  precision.

• An alternative form of assessment.

• The projects can be required assignments or used
  for
• extra credit options, or both.

• The topics can focus on specific student trouble
  areas.

• By-product of trying to teach them the writing
  skills is
• they learn the math they are working on.

• Makes for a great showcase or bulletin board,
  raising the profile of the AP Stat class.

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Modeling Writing and the Creation of Well-Written
Sentences

• If teachers model the writing process when
  creating class notes, kids learn about sentence
  constructionbetter than by viewing
  already-scripted, slick PowerPoint bullets.

• Kids need to see you alter and revise a sentence
  to make the thought clearer. Invite students to
  offer clauses to improve the sentence. Most kids
  dont have full sentences in their notes.

• Real time creation of full sentences allows
  them to focus and copy. Often, bulleted
  PowerPoint sentences are clicked on without
  enough time for students to digest and copy.

• Show best examples from previous years to raise
  the bar.
• Be a naïve proofreader.

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Technical Writing Sources

• Writing Math Research Papers
• R. Gerver
• Key Curriculum Press
• Search online for used books
• Write On! Math
• R. Gerver
• Global Learning or
• MathSoft (old publisher)
• Math Complete/ StudyWorks CD

2004
1997
2001
Has samples of completed Math Annotation
Projects, and the notes they came from. You can
demonstrate some technical writing points
students can include in their projects.
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Students Learn to Use Equation Editor
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You Might Even Have to Refer to Some Parts of
Speech!

• A write-up about instructional videos made for a
  reform school
• The students behaved since they were mesmerized
  by the DVDs. We could not believe they were so
  good.
• How many times can you not tell what it refers
  to in kids work??!!

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Excerpts from Sample Annotations Written By
Students

• Once you have finished constructing a 95
  confidence interval, there is not a 95 chance
  that it captured the mean. It either did or it
  didnt the chance you captured the mean is 0 or
  100. The fact that you dont know if you caught
  it doesnt mean you have a chance, since the
  event already happened. But you can have a
  degree of confidence in your interval.

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Excerpts from Sample Annotations Written By
Students

• If you do reject a null hypothesis, you could
  not have made a Type II error. A Type II error
  occurs when you do NOT reject a null hypothesis
  that is, in fact, false.

When you describe a distribution of univariate
data, comment on its shape, center and spread.
When you describe a set of bivariate data,
comment on its direction, form and strength.
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Students Writing Tells Us When They Dont Fully
Understand

• We dont know if the population is normally
  distributed, but n 200, which is greater than
  15, so t is robust.
• The interval (73.5, 83.5) captured 95 of all
  possible sample means.

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Bulletin Board PossibilitiesAdd statistics
quotes found online!
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Creating Balloon Sentences Requires Knowledge and
Expression of That Knowledge
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Critiques and revisions help improve the product.
The best way to improve writing is to write,
watch writing in action, and critique writing!
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WRITING PROJECTS GRADING
SHEET 1 5 in each
category1._____The mathematics is
correct.2._____The full-sentence explanations
are correct.3._____The topic/problem is
addressed comprehensively and completely.
4._____All crucial points are addressed
verbally.5._____Color is used with discretion to
improve the explanation. 6._____Statistical
notation and terminology are used
correctly.7._____Captions for figures are
descriptive and formatted correctly.8._____Table
headings are descriptive and formatted
correctly.9._____The physical layout of the
project--text, diagrams, tablesis high
quality.10._____Appropriate and sufficient
examples are given.11._____Diagrams and/or
tables are graduated where necessary.12._____
Warnings and classic errors are
addressed.13._____The project does a clearer job
of explaining the topic than the original notes
do.14. _____A draft was handed in for critiquing
in advance of the due date.15._____The depth and
quality of the project are commensurate with the
students ability.
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Suggestions

• Try Balloon Help Tutorials for assorted problems
  on one topic.
• Try Math Annotation Projects for one topic.
• Tweak, revise, and see if you want to use them on
  other topics.
• Questions? Contact Rob at
• gerverr_at_northshoreschools.org