Statistics on everyday life with the eyes of young people – Tools and ideas for improving statistical literacy in Finland Hannele Orjala ESS Visualisation Workshop 17 to 18 May 2016, Valencia

Key points

• Statistical literacy as an

investment in the future • Co-operation models in Finland • Case 1. Tilastrofi – Statistical

Yearbook for children • Case 2. International Statistical

Literacy project • Case 3. Statistics Finland 150 years • Conclusions

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Statistical literacy is the ability to read and interpret summary statistics in the everyday media: in graphs, tables, statements, surveys and studies. - Milo Schield -

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What is Statistical Literacy?

• Knowledge of basic statistical key figures • Understanding of concepts describing society (e.g. inflation,

unemployment, GDP, etc.) • Basic knowledge about research methods (from the

viewpoint of both use and interpretation) • Basic knowledge about visualisation (both visualisation and

interpretation) • Knowledge about data sources and the ability to evaluate

the used data sources • Knowledge to produce new information

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An investment in the future – Future decision-makers

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Experiences of collaboration with academia for visualisation in statistical literacy

Co-operation Partners Level of education

Tilastrofi - Statistical Yearbook for children Statistical literacy work model and competition for students

Several partners (see slide 9)

Elementary and secondary schools (age 7-15)

International Statistical Literacy Project (ISLP), poster competition

Operates under the International Statistical Institute (ISI), IASE

Secondary schools and upper secondary schools

eCourse in statistics http://www.tilastokeskus.fi/tup/koulutus/index_en.html

- Teachers and students at university level

Customer training services Trainers also outside of SF Teachers

Exhibitions, school visits, invitations of pupils and teachers to office

- all

Co-operation in visualisation of data Case by case University level

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Why we should invest in student cooperation

• Young people are future decision-makers, data users and data suppliers

• Building confidence in and awareness of official statistics among younger generation

• Networking with educational institutions helps raise new statistical experts

• Our communication and training burden becomes lighter • Statistical thinking is a key tool in event-based learning

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“The bases for learning are comprehensive, real world events. These phenomena are viewed as wholes, in

the actual context and related information and skills are thought across subject limits.”

Case 1. Tilastrofi - Statistical Yearbook for children

• A national operations model with schoolchildren aged 7 to 15 of how statistical know-how should be developed as part of the educational system since 2012

• Students: • Study their everyday life, special features of their school or

their living area, and • Produce data on important things found there using statistical

methods and visualisations. • Finnish cooperation project of Helsinki Mathland,

City of Helsinki Urban Facts, Statistics Finland, Aalto University and the Summamutikka centre

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Objectives

Students: 1. Raise good issues or issues that require improvement in their own

school or immediate environment 2. Define their own measures of welfare together

with their teachers 3. Utilise statistical methods in practice 4. Learn to read and produce statistics

and to illustrate them (infographics) 5. Influence the decision making in their school

with the information they have produced

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How to proceed in practice? • Select a topic

• Collect ideas, for example, in small groups and then vote together to pick the best idea

• Collect the data • By questionnaires / interviewing • The criterion is that the data can be collected into

a table and presented as statistics • Choose how to present the data

• For example, a poster or an animation or infographics • Publish the results and research stages in a joint portal for schools • Present the research at school and in a final gala event for all

schools at Statistics Finland • Best research projects get prizes

• http://tilastro.fi/ (only in Finnish and Swedish) • https://vimeo.com/106282014

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Case 2.

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International Statistical Literacy Poster Competition 2016–2017, since 2008 • Participating: Teams of two to three students and two categories: students

born in 2000 and younger and students born in 1997 and younger • The theme of the poster is the history of one’s own country • Registration starts on 18 January 2016 and the submission deadline on or

before 17 March 2017 • It is an interesting way to work as a team

• to investigate real questions • using real data • to use one’s mathematical and graphical skills • to interpret statistical results • to develop written communication skills

• Prizes • National winners’ posters to be displayed at the World Statistics

Congress in Marrakech, Morocco in 2017 http://iase-web.org/islp/

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Results today from these projects Tilastrofi • 97 elementary schools in Tilastrofi

and 819 study projects named • Tilastrofi expanding to all Finland • Strong partnership

• International statistical literacy project • In 2014 to 2015 internationally

over 8,000 students from 22 different countries

• 12 EU countries participated • Nine EU countries had

participating students • In Finland 247 students were involved

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Why is Statistics Finland part of these projects?

• Statistics support students' research projects directly • Students learn the stages of statistical research from a young age

– services to citizens, to future decision-makers • Networking divides costs and generates new ideas for developing

service models • We get first-hand information about user needs • Promoting a positive public image and improving corporate social

responsibility • Educational sector has been one of our main segments since 2001

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Case 3. Visualisation co-operation with academia - Statistics Finland 150 years (Metropolia - University of Applied Science)

https://dreambroker.com/channel/at5tl6v4/?filterByCategory=0zsld5jv • Functions as a material for visiting

students

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Questions for ourselves

• Do we see young people as a strategic target group?

• Do we also further advance our skills by learning from the younger generation?

• How can we further develop partnerships?

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Conclusions

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1. It is not easy to measure results • Number of participants, schools, visitors, regional accessibility • Quality of the co-operation with multiply skilled professional groups • Feedback from students and teachers • Efficiency? Cost-benefit analysis? • Positive public image effects?

2. New demands in know-how presume statistical literacy skills • Evidence-based decision making increasing • Data science, data journalism, infographics, big data require skilled

persons with interest in statistics • Statistical literacy is a more important skill in the future for citizens

and decision-makers as well

Users

Conclusions

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Statisticians

National statistical agencies

Statistical societies

International organisations

3. Increasing cooperation to enhance statistical literacy and user skills

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More information

Hannele Orjala, Director of Communication and Information Services, Statistics Finland hannele.orjala@stat.fi Reija Helenius, Director of International Statistical Literacy Project, Head of Development, Statistics Finland reija.helenius@stat.fi www.stat.fi http://iase-web.org/islp/

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Hannele.Orjala@stat.fi ESS Visualisation Workshop 17 to 18 May 2016, Valencia