I think R is an outstanding tool for high schoolers. Might as well teach good data habits from the get-go, rather than spend the first two (or more) years of college un-teaching bad ones.
Back around 2013, I taught two 5-hour R workshops to students in a longitudinal science research class at Rondout Valley High Shool in New York State. R-help and R-sig-teaching archives contain the preliminary conversations leading up to my workshops, my experiences doing them, and some post-workshop feedback from the students and their teacher. [search archives for "teaching R high school" or similar.] Or by my email address. All in all, I'd say it was very successful. The students started a computer programming club afterward, and several have gone on to college in various STEM and programming fields. If there is going to be more discussion about this, I'm in. --Chris Ryan SUNY Upstate Medical University Binghamton University Broome County Health Department On Tue, May 17, 2016 at 6:01 PM, Mark Daniel Ward <m...@purdue.edu> wrote: > Dear Brian, > > I firmly agree with you. Indeed, I'm working with some colleagues at the > ASA (American Statistical Association) on trying to really broaden the > groups that are impacted by the use of R and data science, far beyond the > usually K-12 contact with statistics. > > Perhaps we don't have to bother everyone with such discussions. I wonder if > interested parties would like to have a sub-discussion about this with my > colleagues at the ASA? I'm actually trying to build some momentum in these > very areas. Would you like to (directly) discuss further? I've been > working on an initiative in this vein lately. > > P.S. I see that you are a professor of wildlife and statistics. Although > I'm in a statistics department, we have several students working on projects > related to forestry and natural resources at Purdue. > > Mark > > Mark Daniel Ward, Ph.D. > Associate Professor and Undergraduate Chair > Department of Statistics > Purdue University > 150 North University Street > West Lafayette, IN 47907-2067 > m...@purdue.edu > phone: (765) 496-9563 > > > > On 5/17/16 5:45 PM, Brian Dennis wrote: >> >> Hi fellow R-philes, >> >> My contention is that R is not just for statistics. Rather, R can be used >> in math and science classes in colleges, community colleges, and even high >> schools, to replace most uses of graphing calculators and proprietary >> spreadsheets. >> >> Various aspects of R seem to have immense potential for helping STEM >> (science, technology, engineering, math) education: >> >> (1) With R, scientific calculations and graphs are fun and easy to >> produce. >> A student using R can focus on the scientific and mathematical concepts >> without having to pore through a manual of daunting calculator keystroke >> instructions. The students would be analyzing data and depicting equations >> just as scientists are doing in labs all over the world. >> >> (2) R could be learned once and used across a wide variety of STEM >> courses, >> promoting the integration of STEM subjects that has been much discussed in >> principle but elusive in practice. >> >> (3) R is now probably the most universally available computational tool >> (aside from counting on fingers). Many students access a computer to use >> social media, and most schools and colleges have institutional machines >> (of >> varying quality) available to the students. Versions of R exist for most >> platforms (going back 10 years or more), so R could be made instantly >> available to every student in every course. >> >> (4) R invites collaboration. Students can work in groups to conduct >> projects in R, build R scripts, and improve each others’ work. Results on >> a >> computer screen are easier to view in groups than on a calculator. At >> home, >> students can work cooperatively online with R. Every new class can build >> new accomplishments upon those of previous classes. R builds on itself. >> >> (5) R skills follow a student to college and professional life. College >> statistics and advanced science courses are increasingly teaching R. R >> skills are a becoming a valuable professional credential in sci-tech, data >> analytic, and finance firms. >> >> (6) R tutorial websites and videos for beginners are now widespread and >> free. >> >> I have taught R as a guest teacher in 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grades >> (& am a university statistician/scientist by profession). The kids love >> it >> and take to it with gusto. R seems to them like a real important thing >> when they produce, all by themselves, beautiful graphs of important >> concepts. >> >> Toward the goal of popularizing R as a general product for scientific >> graphs and calculations, I wrote a book, "The R Student Companion". It is >> an inexpensive paperback modeled in a "lab manual" format. Naturally, so >> many free instructional resources are available for R that instructors can >> bring R into courses without needing extra books. However, my book is >> targeted at a high school level audience, having just a little algebra, >> and >> it contains real, compelling scientific examples and computational >> exercises and projects. The value-added convenience, and the fact that >> the >> book ports across many courses, seem to me to make the book a bargain. >> >> Publisher website here: >> >> https://www.crcpress.com/The-R-Student-Companion/Dennis/p/book/9781439875407 >> >> Amazon here: >> http://www.amazon.com/The-Student-Companion-Brian-Dennis/dp/1439875405 >> >> Read reviews here: >> http://webpages.uidaho.edu/~brian/reviews_of_RSC.pdf >> >> Readin', Rritin', Rithmetic, and R! >> >> Enjoy! >> >> Brian Dennis >> Professor of Wildlife and Statistics >> University of Idaho >> >> [[alternative HTML version deleted]] >> >> _______________________________________________ >> R-sig-teaching@r-project.org mailing list >> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-sig-teaching > > > _______________________________________________ > R-sig-teaching@r-project.org mailing list > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-sig-teaching _______________________________________________ R-sig-teaching@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-sig-teaching