T
he American Statistical Association is pleased to 7–9 grade category included a comparison of methods that taught
announce the winners of the 2008 Poster Competition spelling using nonvisual methods and an evaluation of the awareness
and Project Competition. First-place winners received a and knowledge of rip currents. Projects in the 10–12 grade category
$200 check, plaque, and grade-appropriate graphing calculators from were quite diverse, ranging from exploring the association between
Texas Instruments. The support by Texas Instruments is much appre- sleep deprivation and academic load to determining the most efficient
ciated by the ASA and the students and teachers. Second-place win- ways to count cells in fluorescence microscopy and analysis of tail sig-
ners received $100 and a plaque; third-place winners received $50 and nals used by squirrels to evaluating the use of cosmetics.
a plaque; and honorable mentions received certificates. Each winning project featured student-collected data (not data
Students in grades 4–12 are encouraged to submit projects to the downloaded from the internet). Judging focused on the design, analy-
competition. Students pose a question, design a study to answer the sis, conclusions, and reflection of the projects, as these affected the
question, collect and analyze the data, answer the question using the students’ ability to answer the questions being asked.
results of the analysis, and then review what went well and areas that The competitions are directed by the ASA/NCTM Joint
could have been improved. A short write-up of the activity, gener- Committee on the Curriculum in Statistics and Probability. Posters
ally less than 10 pages, is submitted to the competition. Sometimes, and projects are due April 1 each year. Information about the com-
science fair projects serve as the foundation for the project but, for petitions, including entry forms and a rubric of how the posters and
this competition, it is important to emphasize the statistical aspects, projects are judged, is available at
www.amstat.org/education via the
including design, data collection, graphical approaches, and analyses. K–12 link.
For the second year, students were encouraged to submit their
projects electronically. Most students chose this option, but those
projects submitted in paper form were scanned. This allowed teachers
and statisticians nationwide to judge the competition. In the initial
round of judging, each project was read by at least one statistician and
one teacher. Projects that scored high moved to the next round. Top
projects were read and discussed by all judges for a particular grade
category (e.g., 4–6, 7–9, 10–12). Differences in ranking were fully
discussed until the group reached consensus.
The winning projects may be viewed at
www.amstat.org/education
under the K–12 link. Also on the web site are two statements from the
judges that should help students and teachers prepare stronger projects
in the future. If you know of someone in these grades who may be
interested in participating, encourage them to look at these statements
and compete next year.
Projects that allow students to answer questions they are interested
in are always the most interesting, both to the students and to the
judges. Of course, the type of question often changes with age. In the
grades 4–6 category, projects discussed what affected the amount of
food thrown away from school lunches and compared the amount of
soft drinks consumed by adults and children. Student projects in the
20 AMSTAT NEWS AUGUST 2008
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