Hands-on Activity

Activity Title: Analysing and Representing Data.

Project Aim:

To develop the ability to represent data in different forms (bar graphs, histograms and line graphs) and to interpret the information from each type of graph. Also, to encourage teamwork and communication skills through the writing of a full report on the activity.

Detailed Project Description:

This project will be carried out in groups of 3 to 5 students and will have a duration of one week. Each group will choose a theme of interest and carry out field research (either through online questionnaires, video interviews, etc.) collecting data that can be represented in the three forms of graphs studied: bar graphs, histograms and line graphs.

Materials Required:

• Paper and pens for note taking
• Computer or tablet with internet access to carry out research
• Software to create graphs (Excel, Google Sheets, etc.)

Step-by-step guide to carry out the activity:

1. Choose a theme: The theme should be something of interest to the group and which can involve the collection of varied data. Examples include: "The use of social networks by students at our school", "The most popular sports practised by residents of our neighbourhood", "The musical preferences of members of our family", among others.

2. Plan and carry out the field research: Each group must think about questions that help to collect data relevant to their theme and that can be represented in the three types of graphs.

3. Data collection: Carry out the research and collect the data. Remember to be respectful of the people who are collaborating with your research.

4. Drawing the graphs: With the data collected, the students must create a bar graph, a histogram and a line graph to represent the data. It is important to remember that not all data collected is suitable for all types of graphs, therefore it is necessary to analyse the data and use the most appropriate type of graph.

5. Graph analysis: After creating the graphs, the students must analyse the data presented and discuss the information that each graph provides.

Project Deliverables:

• Three graphs representing the data collected (bar graph, histogram and line graph)

• A written report:

  • Introduction: This should include: the presentation of the chosen theme, the justification for this choice, the relevance and real-world application of the research and the objective of the research.
  • Development: Here, the students should explain the theory behind the concept of data representation and the three types of graphs used. Then, they should detail the methodology used for the field research, the data collection and the drawing of the graphs. Finally, they should present and discuss the results obtained.
  • Conclusion: In this section, the students should summarise the main points of the work, explain what they have learnt from carrying out the project and their conclusions on data representation.
  • Bibliography: The students should indicate the sources that were used for the development of the project, such as books, web pages, videos, etc.