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#618, v1.0 Published:
#809, v1.0 Published:

Title

Old VersionNew Version
1Figure of the Day 1Figure of the Day - Ecology additions

Authors

Old VersionNew Version
1Arietta Fleming-Davies (University of San Diego) 1Kristine Grayson ()
2Jeremy M Wojdak (Radford University) 2Kristine Grayson (University of Richmond)
3Hayley Orndorf (University of Pittsburgh)   

Description

Old VersionNew Version
1<p>Math anxiety can prevent students from engaging with and solving problems even when they have the requisite knowledge or skills.&nbsp; Interpreting graphs in particular can be difficult for many students because understanding visual data is not a formulaic process - there isn&rsquo;t a single set of steps that always work, like there might be for solving a quadratic equation.</p>  1<p>By presenting graphs with all labels removed, Figure of the Day helps students engage in graph interpretation by turning it into a puzzle. Students use their number sense to make observations and come up with reasonable guesses or explanations for the patterns shown. Figure of the Day can also help students learn to enjoy the experience of tackling a very challenging (or even impossible!) problem by providing repeated daily practice.</p>
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3<p>&ldquo;Figure of the Day&rdquo; is a clever approach to help students learn to interpret graphs that avoids inducing anxiety in students by establishing from the outset that students will not have all the information necessary to be 100% correct. Graphs are presented without axes labels or legends, and interpretation is turned into a puzzle, where any observation about the data is potentially helpful.&nbsp; What results is that students look much more carefully at all the details of a graph - the colors, sizes, shapes, arrangement, magnitude, and try to piece together a story.&nbsp; This is exactly what experienced scientists do, much more often than starting with a figure legend, for example.&nbsp; Different students will notice different features, and the value of multiple student voices is often really evident - small groups or a class can together often uncover the meaning of a graph even without the axes labels!</p>  3<p>Each figure is presented as a pair of slides, the first with all axis labels and legends removed, and the second as the original figure. Students are asked to make observations about the unlabeled version and guess what pattern is represented.&nbsp;</p>
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5<p>Figure of the Day can be used at the beginning of each class period, taking 5 minutes or less. Professional scientists didn&rsquo;t learn how to interpret data in an afternoon, but instead from reading 100s of papers. Students need the same repetition.&nbsp; Figures in the collection are roughly ordered by difficulty. The notes section for each figure gives the instructor some ideas for potential student responses or interesting features of the graphs. Also see our<a href="https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/biomaap/collections/figure-of-the-day" target="_blank"> collection of community-contributed </a>Figures of the Day on various biology and quantitative themes, and please contribute your own favorite figure!</p>    
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7<p>Do you want to know more about implementing this material? Have a question for the author? Used the material and have feedback? As a&nbsp;featured <a href="https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/quant_bio_online/teachertalk" target="_blank">Resource Walk-Through</a> in the <a href="https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/quant_bio_online/">Teaching Quantitative Biology Online group</a>, you can learn more about the module and participate in a discussion:&nbsp;</p>    
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9<p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/quant_bio_online/teachertalk#figofweek" target="_blank">Resource Walk-Through</a></p>   

Attachments

1 file — ./Figure of the Day/BIOMAAPfiguresoftheday1.2.pptx 1 file — ./Figure of the Day/Figure_of_the_Day_New_ones_from_Kristine_Grayson.pptx
2 file — ./Figure of the Day/card_figure_of_the_day.jpg