Data Analysis for Middle School Students

Clifford Konold & Craig D. Miller

TinkerPlots Dynamic Data Exploration software is inquiry-based software designed specifically to get students excited about what they can learn from data!

It is great in the classroom for inquiry-based math and science lessons where students collect and analyse data to explore their own hypotheses, TinkerPlots helps students grasp the key concepts that drive data analysis by providing user-friendly plotting tools to make their own graphs!

System requirements: Pentium-based system or equivalent; Windows®98 or XP or later; CD-ROM drive. Macintosh®: PowerPC-based system; Mac OS 10.1 or later; CD-ROM drive.

With TinkerPlots, students can:

• Collect data. Download data from the Internet, copy it from a spreadsheet or enter it manually.
• Design their own plot. Organise data by ordering, stacking, and separating data icons to create pie charts, histograms, scatter plots or graphs of their own creation.
• Investigate data. TinkerPlots comes with about 40 data sets covering everything from the weight of students' backpacks to the orbit of the planets. Each data set includes a question to get them started.
• Share data. Teachers and students from all around the world can post data on the Online Resource Centre.
• The TinkerPlots package includes: TinkerPlots CD-ROM, Exploring Data With TinkerPlots, Quick Reference Card and Access to the Online Resource Centre.