This week I am leading a workshop at the 2015 AP Conference in Austin, TX on “Serving the Community through Statistics: A Capstone Project.” The talk is on integrating service-learning projects into AP Statistics. Being that this is kinda my dissertation topic, I’ve written about it numerous times before here on GodandMath.com. In addition to the resources that you will find below, feel free to check out some of the prior posts on service learning:

• From the Classroom to the Community (and back again): Stories of Statistics, Significance, and Service: Practical presentation on integrating service-learning in statistics given at the 2015 Joint Math Meetings.
• Serving through Statistics: the first (and largest) service project that I implemented complete with video summaries and interview with students.
• AP Stat Reading Best Practices Presentation: Short presentation I gave on service learning in AP Statistics at the 2014 AP Statistics Reading in Kansas City, MO.
• CAMT 2012 Presentation: Presentation I gave at the Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching based on the first statistics service-learning project mentioned above.
• Geometry and the Homeless: the first service-learning project I did with my geometry students. An updated version from this last school year should find its way onto the site by mid summer.

ABSTRACT:

This session will equip participants to design, implement, and evaluate service-learning based statistics projects in which students partner with non-profit organizations in their local community. These projects synthesize the major concepts of experimental design, data analysis, and statistical inference in the real-world context of community service. Through these projects students integrate their conceptual understanding of statistics with the practical functioning of their local community, ultimately gaining a deeper appreciation for the role statistics plays in the organization and evaluation of service societies. In this session participants will explore several successful examples of such projects, identify the key components of a successful project, engage in discussion assessing the feasibility and logistics of implementing service projects in their own curriculum, and critique project evaluation rubrics.

PRESENTATION:

You can click the image below to find the PowerPoint that accompanied my presentation.

SUMMARY PACKET:

I prepared a packet of information for those attending my session. You can access the packet here. The packet contains the following:

1. Presentation Outline
2. Classroom Handouts
3. Resources

ADDITIONAL HANDOUTS:

I could not include every classroom handout that I use in the packet that I prepared. Here are some of those additional handouts:

• Implementation Reflection Guide for Instructors
• Project Checklist
• Initial Contact Email Template
• Proposal Guidelines
• Sample Report 1 – Mission Possible Volunteer Analysis
• Sample Report 2 – Spiritual Growth Assessment for Austin Ridge Bible Church
• Fall Project 1 (from Josh Tabor)
• Fall Project 2

EXTERNAL RESOURCES:

• Issue of PRIMUS Dedicated to Successful Service Learning Resources (Volume 23, Issue 6, 2013).
• Service-Learning Session from 2011 Joint Math Meetings (Organized by Dr. Crisman)
• Mathematics in Service to the Community: concepts and models for service learning in the mathematical sciences, Charles Robert Hadlock (MAA Notes Series)