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Back To School Night

(Students - feel free to read this, but you don't have to... it is for your parents!)

 Hi Parents! Welcome. Here is what I would like to cover:
  1. Who am I?
    • Bio- education, role at TMS, current work
    • Why I am not here


  2. What this course is and what it will cover
    • Motivations - selections from "getting to know you assignment" from the beginning of class:
      •  "i've never really been good at [math]"
      • "sometimes i enjoy it but most of the time i feel uhgggggg"
      • "I don't really enjoy math very much"
      • "I'm not very good at it but i try"
      • "i hate math"
    • Title of the course in my head: "Math as Communication: Data Visualization, Statistics, and Probability"
    • Student Goals
      • Be able to effectively read graphs
      • Be able to understand large data sets by using measures of central tendency
      • Be able to communicate likelihood using probability
      • Be able to communicate data sets by producing interesting and clear graphs and other data visualizations
  3. How I teach
    • Big picture
    • Day-to-day
      • Only meaningful homework that is as long as it needs to be, and no longer
  4. Announcements
    • Feltron Project

      • As a class, we will be document a few data points in our lives, and producing data visualizations to communicate the information we gather.
      • The project is named after the first person I know of to do this, and the best designer, like, ever: Nicholas Felton
      • Example measurements: time spent watching Netflix per day, number of tattoos each person I meet has, poops per day
      • I am stoked to see this project completed!
      • Data will be gathered either in a notebook - pen and paper - or using technology in some way. I am using the app Reporter and really like it - I think it would work for some students, and not for others.
      • Example output:

  5. Questions?
    • If Melissa or Garret Lee are here, they can answer questions about my vibe and how I teach.
    • Of course, I am happy to talk too... in fact...
  6. Communication
    • I'd love to stay in contact... so for homework, why don't you fill out this form!

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