Cheating Confirmed Through Stats

Freakonomics Author Devises Algorithm to Catch Cheaters

(AP Photo/Vietnam News Agency, Tran Le Lam)

 http://www.businessinsider.com/freakonomics-steven-levitt-cheating-study-2015-10

1)  In what ways can the use of statistics provide evidence for action?  What are the limits of statistical knowledge?  

2)  Why might the students' parents feel differently than the professor?  The same?  Why might a Chinese student feel differently than an American?  

3)  Is statistics math or science?  How is this connected to social relationships?  

4)  In what ways would this story be reported differently if the researcher was not well-known?  How might this be different   

5)  What are some basic assumptions about cheating in general and in academics specifically?  In which subject would cheating be most beneficial for you?  

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can write a satirical story making cheating in sports analogous to academic cheating.   

2)  Students can develop their own statistical models for cheating in a classroom of their choice.  

Half Off Appetizers for Jews and Arabs who Dine Together

Israeli Cafe Hopes to Bring Communities Together

(Shutterstock)


http://qz.com/528454/an-israeli-cafe-is-giving-discounts-to-jews-and-arabs-who-eat-together/ 

1)  How could the cafe owner measure the success or failure of his endeavor?  How might we find out the true origins of hummus?  How might the owner find out if people are abusing the system?    

2)  Why might an American teenager feel differently about this than an Israeli teenager?  In what ways would this story be different if it happened 75 years ago?  Why might the yemenite (Arab Jew) feel differently about this than

3)  In what ways is this connected to environmentalism?  Sports?  Cheating on a test?

4)  What if the cafe owner had chosen pizza as the item?  Hot dogs?  In what ways would this story be different if it happened 75 years ago?  20 years from now?  

5)  What are the short-term consequences of this promotion?  To what degree can this affect official policy of the Israeli government?  What are the underlying assumptions about Israeli culture in this piece?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can research the Christmas football match during WWI and draw connections to this story.

2)  Students can identify foods that could bring conflicting groups together and compile an "international peace cookbook".

Writing with The Evil Hand

Teacher Forces 4 Year Old to Change Hands When Writing

(Shutterstock)

http://www.newser.com/story/213266/teacher-makes-4-year-old-stop-writing-with-evil-hand.html

1)  What evidence might be most convincing that one hand is better than another?  To what degree can we judge the historical record on this subject?

2)  Why might a baseball player feel differently about this story than an author?  Why might Paul McCartney feel differently than Barack Obama?

3)  In what ways is this connected to art?  To what degree is this connected to recess?

4)  How might this have been different if it was pro-left-handedness?  The same?

5)  Is this significant to you?  What are the basic assumptions about "handedness"?  What are the long-term effects of this story on the child?    

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can create an "Opposite Hand Day" and journal their experiences.

2)  Students can chart the handedness of their classmates and compare it national characteristics.  They can then make predictions about the future.

Librarian Bans Book for a Cause

Banning Books in Support of Literature

https://theconversation.com/im-a-librarian-who-banned-a-book-heres-why-48427

 'Book' via www.shutterstock.com

1)  What makes a librarian "trained"?  What is the most convincing evidence that a book is inappropriate?   

2)  In what ways would a student view this differently than a teacher? Why might a German librarian feel differently than the author about this article?

3)  In what ways is this connected to studies of the internet?  In which course would this article be appropriate to read?    

4)  To what degree would this have changed if it was written by an administrator?   A Republican candidate for the Presidency?  Democratic?  How might the author have changed their methods to produce the desired results?  

5)  To what extent is this significant?   What are some assumptions about freedom of speech universally or in your society?  

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can research the most banned books of all time and predict what kind of book might make the list in the next 5 years.  

2)  Students can try this experiment in their school and blog about the observations.  

AoK:  English Language 

WoK:  Language  

Man's Job is to Take Selfies

Record-Breaking 1800 Selfies Taken in 1 Hour

 (Bhanu Prakash)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Hyderabad-boy-eyes-new-record-by-clicking-1800-selfies-in-one-hour/articleshow/48845060.cms

1)  What are the parameters of the competition?  Are they valid?  Is this something worth competing for?  What evidence is most compelling in training for this activity?

2)  Why might his parents feel differently than his former teachers?  His current or future partner/s?  The relatives of George Eastman?
  
3)  In what ways is this more connected to chemistry than to psychology?  To what degree is this connected to math?  

4)  How might the reporting of this story be different if it was about a teenage girl?  An American?

5)  What are the basic assumptions about people who take selfies?  What are the basic assumptions of those who share selfies about their followers/friends?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can chart the rate of posted selfies of their friends and compare them to those of celebrities'.

2)  Students can research the use of selfies within different social networks and predict future trends.

AoK:  Human Sciences

WoK:  Imagination

6 Humans Step Into One-Year Isolation Dome

Mars Isolation Experiment Begins

(NASA)

http://phys.org/news/2015-08-year-mars-isolation.html


1)  What collected data could be the most useful for NASA?  In what ways could the experiment prove to be useless?  

2)  Why might a former astronaut think about this differently than a junior high school student?  In what ways might Buzz Aldrin and Chris Hadfield think similarly about this experiment?

3)  In which class would this topic be most appropriate?  In what ways is this experiment more about physical health than psychology?  

4)  What if the participants all spoke different languages?  Were related?  The length of time was shortened to 1 month?  Extended to 3 years?

5)  In what ways is this experiment significant?  What are the long term consequences on the participants?  What are the short term consequences for NASA?  What are the basic assumptions tested in this experiment?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can research the effects of extreme isolation on humans ("feral" children, solitary confinement, etc.) and write a story from the perspective of someone who is recruited by NASA because of their previous experience.

2)  Students can write a journal in the voice of a future astronaut from different points in time, considering time traveled and their eventual return.  

AoK:  Human Sciences

WoK:  Intuition

Tongue-Rolling Myth Totally 'Debunked'

Classic Genetic Myth is Wrong

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/genetic-myth-textbooks-get-wrong/

1)  In what ways is wisdom 'conventional'?  To what degree should science textbooks be believed?  What confers expertise in genetics?    

2)  Why might an American child feel differently about this than their grandparent?  In what ways would a 7th grade science teacher think about this differently than a student?  

3)  How might this be connected to psychology?  Math?

4)  In what ways would this story be different if it was about another classic example (i.e. widow's peak, ear lobe)?  How would this story be different if it was about genetics more than certainty?    

5)  What are some under lying assumptions about science in this article?  About belief?  In what ways is this significant for educational institutions?  

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can create a list of debunked artifacts of conventional wisdom and compare them to those in a country of their choice.

2)  Students can create a Top Ten list of the most widely believed debunked conventional wisdom in an area of their choice (history, science, nutrition) and survey their classmates.  Students can then analyze the results and offer prescriptive advice on combating them when they are encountered again.

AoK:  Human Sciences
 WoK:  Reason