A table or graph can misrepresent information by. It is easy, if students are not skilful at reading graphs and tables, to interpret them incorrectly.
They can make wrong decisions because they are basing them on false inferences. When constructing graphs and tables, it is also possible to misrepresent the data. Research suggests that students often regard tables and graphs as an end in themselves. Few refer to them as a source of evidence, or as a way of exploring patterns and relationships in data or information.
The curriculum Tables and graphs are relevant to almost all areas of the curriculum. The conventions of tables and graphs are consistent across all curricula. It is the context in which they are used that identifies them as science, social sciences, geography, etc. The table below gives examples of English, mathematics, and science ARB resources that include tables or graphs. Key competencies Investigating tables and graphs potentially strengthens several key competencies.
What are the problem areas for students? Language Some technical vocabulary can cause problems for some students.
Some students are only familiar with the everyday meaning of table. These students draw a kitchen table when asked to "draw a table". Go to Language barriers. Tables In our ARB trials we have found that most students can complete simple table-reading tasks. Students have had difficulty with:. However, many students also do not complete these sorts of tasks well in contexts other than tables.
Organising the information into a table is a helpful strategy for assisting students to develop these skills. Graphs In our ARB trials we have found students may have difficulty with. At Year 4 most students can read the information on a simple graph. Pie graphs may be more difficult than bar or line graphs. At Year 8 many students can extrapolate information from a simple line graph.
At Year 10 most students are reasonably successful at converting a straight-forward table to a graph. Variables — what are they? In graphs and tables the components that are being compared or measured are called variables. For example, if the question is: How does shadow length vary during a day? The length of the shadow is one variable, and the time of day is the other. It is often useful to describe variables as either dependent or independent. The dependent variables are what can be seen to be changing in relation to the particular levels of the independent variables.
In the above example. In many instances, however, there is no obvious connection of this type between the variables. In other situations we are interested in how the many variables interact with each other.
There are 4 main types of variables:. An investigation can have any combination of variables. This is defined by the question. Variables which are subject to some sort of random, statistical errors are known as random variables. In its simplest form, a table is a group of rows and columns of data. At the top of each column is a column heading, which defines or identifies the contents of that column and often it indicates the unit of measurement.
On the left edge of the table are row headings, which define or identify the contents of that row. Things can get tricky when rows or columns must be grouped or subdivided. In such cases, you have to create row or column subheadings, as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5. As you can see, the title and number for the table goes above the table.
This is in contrast to other types of graphics where the title and number go below the graphic. As with other types of graphics, you should refer to the table in the text just preceding the table. Simplify the table data down to just that amount of data that illustrates your point—without of course distorting that data.
Put the abbreviation in parentheses in the column or row heading. Right- or decimal-align numbers in the columns. If the and 4 were in a column, the 4 would be right below the 3, not the 1. Normally, words in columns are left-justified although you will occasionally see columns of words all centered. Tables allow users to focus on a couple of numbers at a time. These work best for presenting data that uses multiple units of measurement or data that involves exact values.
It can be difficult to compare data on tables because they require detailed reading and focus. On the other hand, graphs show patterns, the ups and downs of data, in visual ways, and they also allow users to compare relationships among patterns. Unlike tables, graphs often present data in unforgettable, appealing ways.
Line graphs, bar graphs and circle graphs can be used to present data visually.
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