The Missing Link - Workshop Sessions

Sampling & Probability

Students bring together the knowledge and skills from the previous three lessons to master perhaps the most abstract of the four Missing Link topics. They use proportions and fractions to compare numbers, patterns in their graphs and tables to make predictions, and problem-solving skills to reach conclusions about their data. Much of the lesson focuses on the concept of sampling and theoretical and experimental probability; the math skills fall into place as students make sense of these concepts.

Why This Topic Matters

In Workshop 7: Discovery, Learner Teachers ...

... work together to collect data and determine the probability of an event and then use probability to make predictions about an unknown sample. They learn how to conduct random samples of data to make predictions about the larger population, just as pollsters do to help elect political candidates and companies do to test market a new product. To make these predictions, teachers use box plots to organize and analyze the sample data.

In Workshop 8: In Practice, Learner Teachers ...

... discuss how their students handled the Sampling & Probability lessons. They explore the difficult gray area between student work that rates a "3" (meets standards) and work that is a "2" (does not meet standards). They learn how to use "on-ramp" lessons for students who haven't yet demonstrated a mastery of core math concepts.

On the following pages, we offer agendas for two different levels of professional development:

a two-hour workshop, where teachers have an opportunity to watch the program, do one lesson and briefly
discuss it
a four-hour workshop, where teachers can watch the program, pause the tape after each lesson, do each lesson on their own and have extended discussions with their colleagues

If at all possible, we recommend that you make time for the longer workshop. Even if you don't have time to do all the lessons with your colleagues during the workshop, it's essential that you do them on your own between the Discovery and In Practice workshops.