Teach Primary Issue 18.4

get involved in the BBC micro:bit playground survey. This national initiative provides a series of free, hands-on activities that allow children to use their micro:bits to collect and visualise data in a fun way. Free classroom sets of the micro:bits, which are pocket-sized computers, were given away to nearly 90 per cent of UK primary schools at the end of last year. How can we interest primary children in data science? We can engage more children in data science by making it relevant to them. For example, the playground survey does this by linking the activities to a place that children are familiar with and visit nearly every day. It is also important to make data science fun and intriguing. A good way to do this is thinking about how the children can collect their own data, using surveys, counting or measuring (see panel). One of the most exciting things about data science is discovering new information. This could be a class project, for instance, investigating biodiversity in the playground ( tinyurl. com/tp-PlaygroundSur- vey ) or, at the other end of the scale, a big national project such as the census. Asking children about the information they have gathered and what they think it means is an essential in helping them to interpret data. Here are some prompts that will help children think about data: • Does the number make sense? Is the number too big or too small to be real? What is the context for the number? • Do you trust the number you’ve been given? Who collected the data and how did they do it? Do you think it is reliable? • What does the number mean for your own decisions? Ask pupils what they’d think if they were told their class uses 300 pencils a day. Would they believe this number? What if they were told the school uses 300 pencils a day? What if it was the headteacher who told them? Would that make them trust the information more? Would they trust it enough to decide how many pencils the school should buy? The opportunity to spark a class discussion about information children have gathered, and what they have interpreted, is valuable and reflects part of the role of being a data scientist. There are lots of ways your pupils can do this: • Talking about their findings with classmates, or delivering a class presentation. • Writing about their findings or creating a video report. • Sharing information in an assembly (particularly good for larger projects like the playground survey). Teaching primary-aged children to think like data scientists might seem an ambitious aim, but, in fact, it’s largely a case of looking at activities you are already doing through a slightly different lens – and in doing so, giving your pupils key tools they will need to successfully navigate the world in which they are growing up. To get involved with the BBC micro:bit playground survey and contribute to a national data set, visit bbc.co.uk/teach/ micro:bit TP 28 | www.teachwire.net Everyday data Modes of travel to school: How did children travel to school? What was the most popular mode of transport? What was the average distance travelled by different modes? Biodiversity in the playground: Try this activity from the playground survey at tinyurl.com/tp-Play- groundSurvey . How many plant and animal species are there in the playground? Can you see any patterns? Making predictions: Based on the size of their class, can your pupils estimate how many children are in the school? Or if you have a reward system, can they estimate how many points have been given out in school this week? Data exercises Getting outside: Leaving the school grounds to count items such as vehicles, buildings or animals. Carrying out a survey Pupils could contribute to a survey to decide which sport the class should do during PE. Or they could survey children in another class. e.g. to gather information about school dinners and packed lunches and compare this with their own preferences. Using physical props to support learning: Try counting books and pencils in the classroom, or comparing playground temperatures ( tinyurl.com/ tp-SurveyTemps ) with the BBC micro:bit. Mary Gregory is interim director of Population Statistics for the Office for National Statistics.