What is this sequence about?
This learning sequence aims to develop student understanding of the importance of statistical literacy in their everyday lives. Using meaningful contexts, the four stages are based on the collection, analysis, and interpretation of real-world data. Students will learn to pose questions, gather and organise data, analyse data and interpret results to answer questions and make informed decisions. By the end of this sequence, students will develop their ability to think critically to solve problems and enhance their statistical literacy needed to better understand and interpret the world.
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Big understandings Statistical literacy helps us to understand and interpret the world. Data investigations involve formulating questions, collecting data, analysing data and interpreting results. Different types of graphs provide different information about data and influences how well data is understood. |
The sequence has been written by teachers for teachers. It has been designed to provide students with rich, engaging learning experiences that address the Victorian Curriculum. The sequence consists of four flexible stages, including suggested learning intentions.
Overview of stages
1. Class Statistics
Suggested Learning Intentions
- To gather and organise data to answer questions about our world
- To explore various graphic techniques and explain how they provide a different picture of the shape of the data
3. Demographic Diversity
Suggested Learning Intentions
- I can design a question to investigate that can be answered using statistics
- I can collect, analyse, and interpret data to address a real-world problem
- I can describe data using statistics
2. Talking Rubbish
Suggested Learning Intentions
- To design questions that can be answered using statistics
- To investigate how data can be used to solve real world problems
- To describe data using numbers; these are called statistics
4. Welcome to the Global Village
Suggested Learning Intentions
- I can design a question to investigate that can be answered using statistics
- I can collect, analyse, and interpret data to address a real-world problem
- I can describe data using statistics
Prior knowledge
Before you commence this sequence, it is suggested that you ensure your students are familiar with simple methods for collecting data and creating displays using lists, tables, picture graphs and simple column graphs.
You can find support for building students’ understanding of these concepts in the following sections of the Mathematics Curriculum Companion: VCMSP179 and VCMSP180.
Teaching strategies
The Mathematics Curriculum Companion provides teachers with content knowledge, suggested teaching and learning ideas as well as links to other resources. Resources are organised by Mathematics strands and sub-strands and incorporate the proficiencies: Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning. The Companion is an additional resource that you could refer to when you are planning how you might use the sequence in your school.
This sequence of learning activities supports development of the proficiencies, particularly with regard to problem-solving and reasoning. Through these data investigations, students will gain experience in designing, analysing, inferring, proving and explaining. Importantly, these experiences will support the development of proportional reasoning.
The sequence highlights opportunities to apply the High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS), which are a component of the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model.
The sequence highlights the use of a variety of scaffolding practices to help support students in the learning process, in particular:
- collaborating
- modelling
- probing
- orienting
Vocabulary
Students should be able to understand and use the following concepts and terms by the end of the learning sequence:
| Data | Census |
| Data display | Demographics |
| Frequency | Population |
| Graph | Column Graph |
| Statistics | Dot plot |
| Survey | Line graph |
| Table | Pie or circle graph |
| Tally |
You can find definitions of some of these terms in the F-10 Victorian Curriculum Mathematics Glossary.
The Literacy in Mathematics section of the Literacy Teaching Toolkit provides several teaching strategies with worked examples demonstrating how teachers can use literacy to support student understanding of mathematical language. A further set of strategies demonstrate how can develop students' literacy skills to support their mathematical problem solving.
Assessment
Opportunities for formative and summative assessment are identified at different stages of the learning sequence. Look for the 'Assessment Opportunity' icon.
It is recommended that students use a data journal to record their thinking and learning throughout this sequence.
You may want to develop a rubric to assess students’ progress. A range of Formative Assessment resources are available from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. This includes a Guide to Formative Assessment Rubrics, a series of modules to support you to develop your own formative assessment rubrics, and sample rubrics across six curriculum areas that demonstrate how you can put formative assessment rubrics into practice in the classroom.
In developing a rubric, you may wish to co-construct assessment criteria with your students. Each stage of the sequence provides sample success criteria for students working at Level 5.
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority has published annotated work samples that provide teachers with examples of student learning achievement at multiple levels for each strand of the Mathematics curriculum.
Victorian Curriculum connections
Level 4
This sequence addresses content from the Victorian Curriculum in Mathematics. It is primarily designed for Level 5, but also addresses the following content descriptions from Level 4:
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Content description |
Stage |
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Mathematics |
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Select and trial methods for data collection, including survey questions and recording sheets (VCMSP178) |
Class Statistics Talking Rubbish |
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Construct suitable data displays, with and without the use of digital technologies, from given or collected data. Include tables, column graphs and picture graphs where one picture can represent many data values (VCMSP179) |
Class Statistics Talking Rubbish Demographic Diversity Welcome to the Global Village |
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Evaluate the effectiveness of different displays in illustrating data features including variability (VCMSP180) |
Talking Rubbish Demographic Diversity Welcome to the Global Village |
The sequence can be used to assess student achievement in relation to the following Achievement Standards from the Victorian Curriculum in Mathematics Level 4:
- Students describe different methods for data collection and representation, and evaluate their effectiveness.
- Students construct data displays from given or collected data, with and without the use of digital technology.
Level 5
This sequence addresses content from the Victorian Curriculum in Mathematics. It is primarily designed for Level 5, addressing the following content descriptions:
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Content description |
Stage |
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Mathematics |
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Pose questions and collect categorical or numerical data by observation or survey (VCMSP205) |
Class Statistics Talking Rubbish |
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Construct displays, including column graphs, dot plots and tables, appropriate for data type, with and without the use of digital technologies (VCMSP206) |
Class Statistics Talking Rubbish Demographic Diversity Welcome to the Global Village |
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Describe and interpret different data sets in context (VCMSP207) |
Class Statistics Talking Rubbish Demographic Diversity Welcome to the Global Village |
The sequence can be used to assess student achievement in relation to the following Achievement Standards from the Victorian Curriculum in Mathematics Level 5:
- Students pose questions to gather data and construct various displays appropriate for the data, with and without the use of digital technology.
- Students compare and interpret different data sets.
Level 6
This sequence addresses content from the Victorian Curriculum in Mathematics. It is primarily designed for Level 5, but also addresses the following content descriptions from Level 6:
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Content description |
Stage |
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Mathematics |
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Construct, interpret and compare a range of data displays, including side-by-side column graphs for two categorical variables (VCMSP235) |
Class Statistics Talking Rubbish Demographic Diversity Welcome to the Global Village |
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Interpret secondary data presented in digital media and elsewhere (VCMSP236) |
Talking Rubbish Demographic Diversity |
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Pose and refine questions to collect categorical or numerical data by observation or survey (VCMSP237) |
Class Statistics Talking Rubbish |
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Critical and Creative Thinking |
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Investigate thinking processes using visual models and language strategies (VCCCTM029) |
Talking Rubbish Demographic Diversity Welcome to the Global Village |
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The Humanities: Geography |
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Differences in the demographic, economic, social and cultural characteristics of countries across the world (VCGGK093) |
Demographic Diversity Welcome to the Global Village |
The sequence can be used to assess student achievement in relation to the following Achievement Standards from the Victorian Curriculum in Mathematics Level 6:
- Students interpret and compare a variety of data displays.
- Students analyse and evaluate data from secondary sources.
Learning Progressions
The Numeracy Learning Progressions support teachers to develop a comprehensive view of how literacy develops over time. You can use the Numeracy Learning Progressions to:
- identify the numeracy capability of your students
- plan targeted teaching strategies, especially for students achieving above or below the age-equivalent expected level in the Victorian Curriculum: Mathematics
- provide targeted feedback to students about their learning within and across the progressions.
The sequence is related to the following progressions:
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Learning Progression |
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Collecting and displaying data |
Interpreting data scales |
Shape of data displays |
Click on the Learning Progression to access more detailed descriptions of student learning at each level.