[Gr 9-11] Fibs, Lies, and Statistics

1. how data is used (and misused) in the news
2. to develop skills to determine the accuracy and relevance of any given data
3. to critically assess both the intent behind the data and the impact of how it is presented.

Class Schedule

• Class 1: What’s Going On in This Graph? Understanding and Interpreting Statistics, Graphs, and Figures in the News
• Class 2: There’s More Than One Way to Slice It: The Many, Varied, and Unusual Ways to Analyze and Present Information
• Class 3: “Fibs, Lies, and Statistics”: Recognizing and Dealing With Misleading Data 
• Class 4: Asking the Big Questions: Using Data to Understand Critical Issues of Our Time

• Academic English Specialist & STEM advisor
• Senior Teacher for Mathematics/English/Biology/History
• M.A. in International Relations
, Columbia University
• B.S. in Biology, 
Yale University

Hello students! I am excited to work with you. The skills you will learn in this class will be extremely important for the rest of your education, especially college, and for your adult life, too. In our world today, information is power, which means you can’t be an empowered citizen unless you are a well-informed citizen. Let’s become empowered citizens together!

Professional Experience

A little bit about me, for the curious: I teach classes at the Academy at Harvard Square in history, social sciences, and STEM disciplines, plus occasional deep-dive classes on advanced humanities topics. Seems like a really diverse portfolio, doesn’t it? Well, here’s how it works: I graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in biology, then spent a couple years doing research before changing course and going to Columbia University and MIT for graduate school in international relations and political science. While at MIT, I became interested in the history of science and technology, and I’ve been focusing on history ever since! Along the way, I have also given university lectures at Tufts University, UMass Amherst, and UMass Boston. In addition to teaching, I coordinate research for Educational Divide Reform, and I serve as the primary STEM advisor for the Academy. I’m also currently working on a book about music and the Vietnam War.