Teaching Statistics with Raptors in IB Biology

Connie Scercy Wood, Biology, East Mecklenburg High School

Final Unit(pdf)   Implementing Teaching Standards(pdf)

Synopsis:

Students will learn how to use statistical functions to analyze data as they mine a database from the Carolina Raptor Center on injured birds of prey. Background information is provided on basic statistics with examples of how to use them to analyze data mined from the database. Sample size selection, mean, median, mode, standard deviation, standard error, t-tests, chi-square tests, correlation and use of Excel spreadsheets are all topics covered in this unit. It is designed for teaching the statistics needed for an AP or IB Biology class.