Creating scales II

Creating scales II

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Further Resources
This task is about creating a scale for a questionnaire.
Practical Task
The school wants to find out how much students enjoy different subjects.
 
a)
Choose a school subject. Write a question and provide a scale that could be used to collect data on how much students enjoy that subject.
 
  i)
Question:

 
 
 
 
 
  ii) Complete this scale by writing appropriate descriptions of how much students like the subject you chose, so that it could be used to record the answers to your question.
 
Scale:
 
5 point blank scale
 
 

Get your teacher to check your question and scale.
 
b)		  
i)		  
Use your scale to collect data on at least 6 of your classmates as follows:

  1. Copy your question onto the lower half of the Data Form.
  2. Complete the scale on both halves of the Data Form.
  3. Use the Data Form to collect and record the students responses.
  ii)
Describe how your sample of students like the subject you choose.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Data Form
 
Use this half to record student responses.  Keep this part hidden from other students.
  1. Get students to read the question.
  2. Show the scale on the other half of this page to students and ask them to point to where on the scale would best describe their response.
  3. Record where they point to on the scale on this half of this page.
  4. Repeat 1. to 3. with at least 6 people.
 

Show this half to your classmates:

Question:
 
 
 
 

Scale:

   

 

 

 

   

----------------------------------- Fold along this line------------------------------

 

Record your results here:
 
Scale:
 
Task administration: 
  • This assessment activity can be carried out with a whole class, a small group, or an individual student.
  • All students must complete part a) independently and have it marked before continuing with part b). Students must then copy out the corrected version of the question and the scale onto the Data Form.
Level:
4
Curriculum info: 
Maths, Statistics, Statistical investigations
Keywords: 
qualitative data, plotting scales, data collection, planning investigations
Description of task: 
Each student designs a question and an associated scale to record other students' attitudes to mathematics.
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Statistical investigations, set 5
within the Mathematics Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 

a)

i)

 

ii)

A sensible question is asked which is balanced and unbiased, e.g., "How much do you enjoy mathematics at school?"
NOTE: Do not accept questions like "How many people like English?"
The scale is sensibly labelled with responses correctly ordered in an increasing or decreasing way. Do not accept if two or more labels are not sufficiently different (e.g., "enjoy" is too similar to "like").

E.g.,

b)

i)
ii)

Collects information on at least six people and records the responses systematically on their scale.
Makes a sensible statement consistent with their data.