Studio checkpoint: frame a local statistical question
Teams choose one question about their school, community, or environment and open a shared evidence log. They use the lesson activities to define why the question matters and what a trustworthy answer would need.
- Studio move: Question canvas, team roles, and a first PPDAC evidence-log entry
- Portfolio evidence: Endorsed inquiry question with initial assumptions and intended audience
🎯 Learning Intentions
- Understand what statistics are and why we use them
- Recognise the difference between data and information
- Explore how statistics tell stories about people in Aotearoa
🎥 Media Anchor (8 mins)
Video: Research Skills for Students
- What makes a statistical question useful for real decision-making?
- Name one way data can be misread if the question is weak.
1. Hook: Data Detective (10 mins)
What does data tell us about our class?
Activity: Quick class census. Ask 3 questions (e.g., favourite kai, transport to school, iwi affiliation). Create a live human graph.
Ask: "What does this 'picture' tell us that a list of names doesn't?"
2. Concept: The PPDAC Cycle (15 mins)
Introduce the PPDAC Cycle which guides all statistical investigations:
- Problem (Pātai) - Asking the question
- Plan (Mahere) - Deciding how to get answers
- Data (Raraunga) - Collecting information
- Analysis (Tātari) - Looking for patterns
- Conclusion (Whakatau) - Answering the question
Metaphor: Like detective work, we need a process to solve the mystery.
3. Exploration: Stats NZ (20 mins)
Activity: Visit the Stats NZ website.
Find one interesting fact about:
- Population of Aotearoa
- The environment
- Māori wellbeing
Discuss: "How does the government use this information to make big decisions?"
4. Reflection (5 mins)
Exit Ticket: Write down one question you have about our school that data could help answer.
(e.g., "Do Year 8s eat healthier lunches than Year 7s?")
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Ākonga work out what makes a question answerable with data, and choose something about their own community worth investigating.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ I can tell a statistical question from one that data cannot settle.
- ✅ I can name a question about my community that data could answer, and say who would use the answer.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: A one-page 'what counts as a statistical question' sorter with three worked examples already sorted. Extension: find a statistical claim in a news article and say what data would be needed to check it.
ELL / ESOL: Teach 'data', 'variable', 'sample' against something the class can see counted in the room before any definition.
Inclusion: Everyone can answer a real question about their own class at some level. Start there, not with a textbook dataset.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Tūhuratanga — careful investigation — is a practice, not a topic. This week ākonga decide what is worth investigating about their own community, which is the same first move a maramataka observer makes: choose what to watch.
Prior knowledge: Students should have basic familiarity with data displays (bar graphs, dot plots). No prior statistical investigation experience required — the PPDAC inquiry cycle provides accessible scaffolding for first-time investigators.
Curriculum alignment
This lesson develops the Level 4 statistical-investigation objective through a real stage of the PPDAC cycle. See the unit curriculum companion for the exact source statement and lesson-to-evidence map.