Project summary

The I Use project was funded by the EU and ran for three years: from November 2012 to the end of 2015, with the GA as a lead partner.

It recognised that while data overwhelms our modern lives, statistical approaches offer tools to help us to organise and interpret data.

I-Use focused on the professional development of teachers to support their students in becoming statistically literate, capable of reasoning information and making informed decisions based on quantitative information. The project aimed to help pupils and teachers:

• cope with an over-abundance of information-rich resources
• engage students and teachers in learning to use statistics and working with statistics
• make statistical education more visible
• be prepared for the technology-mediated nature of working with statistical information
• keep up with web-based innovation
• develop their statistical competence
• receive training related to different subjects

Project activities and achievements

The project created a website to provide easily accessible statistics; some ready-made and some via links to databases, intended to increase the use of updated statistics in education for both students and teachers, and to develop thinking about the misuse of statistics so that teachers are more statistically literate. Special attention was paid to the functionality of interactive mapping and navigation and comparisons of time-series data sets. A series of tools enabled the mapping of users’ own data sets.

One of the goals of the project was the creation of an in-service teacher-training course to make sense of information through different presentation forms and media. Participants investigated how to develop students’ statistical concepts and thinking. Advice was provided on how teachers can integrate statistical tools and data into their classes.

The project dealt with the assessment of learning, making the distinction between assessment of learning (summative) and assessment for learning (formative) approaches. This was addressed through the three basic components: cognition, observation and interpretation that underlie all forms of evaluation.

Further reading

Information Leaflet

Training leaflet

Twitter feed @StatsinEdu

Facebook Group

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