Hi,
I expect that most competent modern stats courses have long ago abandoned coin tosses and balls in urns as the source of the classroom attention.
Instead most instructors I know use whatever is in the recent media.
That should be easy to tap.
I would start with Andy Gelman'sd blog and anything else he has done with his remarkable productivity.
Pretty much every body else does the same things although perhaps not so publicly.
I have drawn inspiration from the current news for a large proportion of the articles I have written continually in Chance for the past 28 years (see my column Visual Revelations since 1990 for lots of examples).
A fair number of these have been anthologized in my recent books, see:
Truth or Truthiness: Distinguishing Fact from Fiction by Learning to Think like a Data Scientist. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016. (named by the Financial Times to its 'Top Six books of 2016').
Medical Illuminations: Using Evidence, Visualization & Statistical thinking to Improve Healthcare. London: Oxford University Press, 2014 (finalist Royal Society Winton Book Prize).
A Statistical Guide for the Ethically Perplexed (with L. Hubert). New York: Chapman and Hall, 2013.
Uneducated Guesses Using Evidence to Uncover Misguided Education Policies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2011 (finalist for the Grawemeyer/World Order Award)
Picturing the Uncertain World: How to Understand, Communicate and Control Uncertainty through Graphical Display. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009.
Sorry to be so sellf-serving -- look in Gelman's wonderful "Tricks of the Trade" for lovely examples.
HW
------------------------------
Howard Wainer
Extinguished Research Scientist
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2017 02:06
From: Sidney Young
Subject: Looking for statistics lesson plan ideas related to current news topics
It is rather firmly established that a lot of science claims are not replicating. One problem among many is what is called "p-hacking" - the examination of many questions and then reporting the p-value of a selected test. So here is the plan. Find a claim reported in the popular press. Get the press release. Get the paper. Carefully count how many questions are possible. Count: outcomes, predictors, and covariates. Now ask the author two questions. Did you file an analysis protocol? Will you make your data set public?
------------------------------
Sidney Young
Retired
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 06-09-2017 12:40
From: Steve Pierson
Subject: Looking for statistics lesson plan ideas related to current news topics
Dear All,
We are looking for ideas for statistics lesson plans having to do with current news topics. Please send us your ideas and include the news event, what statistical concept(s) could be taught regarding that event, and perhaps a sentence or two on how it might be taught.
We plan to review the ideas submitted and then pitch the top ones to the New York Times Learning Network, which has indicated a willingness to consider ASA submissions. Indeed, they published a piece last fall on the This is Statistics election prediction contest.
We're also seeking ideas for possible submissions by teachers/instructors for how they use NYT content. They are also open to pitches for news quizzes or student contests.
We're really excited for this opportunity and look forward to your ideas.
Individual replies to me are fine but I'd also be interested in replies to the group for the benefit of broader exchanges on the ideas offered.
Thank you!
Steve
------------------------------
Steve Pierson
Director of Science Policy
American Statistical Association
------------------------------