Part 1 Collecting and organizing sufficient relevant data- In scientific experimentation students are required to collect data and

that data must be organized in such a way that is easy to access and easy to manipulate. By using a spreadsheet program students can collect large amounts of data, and organize the data with the sort function. As an example, my students collected 4 sets of data from the entire student population; they asked the students about their favorite movie, favorite sport, favorite food, and favorite subject. Also included in the spreadsheet was student demographics like: age, height, cultural background, and gender. The students then created a spreadsheet listing each student by name and the answers to the 4 data sets as well as the demographics. Then they were asked to separate the students based on multiple aspects of information, creating tables with multiple variations of data sets. The task would have been daunting to complete by hand. The spreadsheet software makes collection, organization and manipulation of data a feasible and efficient task. Solving complex math problems Once students have collected, organized, and manipulated data sets they often need the ability to take that quantitative data and process it. Calculating complex mathematical problems is one of the features that spreadsheets offer. Some examples of the way I use this feature in my classes is finding mean, median, mode, t-tests, and standard deviation. Calculating standard deviation by hand is a complicated process and would not be a valuable use of time, spreadsheet software, like excel, makes this process much more time efficient by including a standard deviation function. T-tests are used to find the significant difference between the means of two sets of data. These calculations can be completed on a spreadsheet by calculating the value fort and comparing it to the critical value based on a specific level of confidence and determining the proper degrees of freedom. Excel can actually determine the value of p or the level of confidence directly. With excel the user can even pre-set the program to use a two-tail set of data unpaired in order to compare one whole population with the other whole population. Creating graphical representations of data- It often said that images can speak volumes; by taking data that is presented in tables and turning that data into a graphical representation of the numbers one can provide the viewer with a clearer understanding of the numbers. Spreadsheet programs allow students to take information that has been collected, organized, manipulated and calculated and make sense of that information. Collecting data in experimentation is done in order to determine whether a hypothesis is valid or needs to be adjusted, this can only be done if the data collected can be processed and analyzed. Analysis of data requires one to find patterns in information, this can be done much more efficiently if graphs and charts can be made, then the patterns show themselves graphically. Maintaining proper class records- The examples listed above were directly related to student usage of excel, but in a classroom students are not the only ones that can use spreadsheets. As a teacher I use spreadsheets to maintain proper records of student performance. For example when I write a test I use certain types of questions, multiple choice, short answer, problem solving etc... and I also use material from a variety of sections within a unit. By not only looking at overall student performance (ie their test score) but also taking into consideration the variables that affect that score I can more accurately assess student deficiencies. When I use a spreadsheet I can enter in all of the data and sort it by the data I want

to focus on, I can then graph that data and look for patterns. I can use multiple points of data to see if two factors overlap, and I can even compare new data to old data. By comparing new and old data I can see if students performance is significantly different. This would allow me to determine if various form of intervention are successful. By maintaining these records I can accurately assess student learning and progression, not just achievement.

Part 2 Lesson Objectives 1.1.1 Use error bars as a graphical representation of the variability of data. 1.1.2 Calculate the mean and standard deviation of a set of values. 1.1.5 Deduce the significance of the difference between two sets of data using calculated values for t and the appropriate tables.

Lesson Procedures You will be gathering two sets of data to determine if there is a significant difference between data sets. You will be comparing the points per game of ten professional basketball players for the Miami Heat for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons. The teams coach wants to see if there is a significant difference between the average points per game in those two seasons in order to determine what training methods or combination of players is more effective for the upcoming season. Use the following website to obtain data- http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIA/2013.html The ten players you will be collecting data on are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
LeBron James Dwyane Wade Chris Bosh Mario Chalmers Shane Battier Norris Cole Mike Miller Juwan Howard James Jones Terrel Harris

You will need to create a table comparing the average points per game for the players listed above in the two championship seasons 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. Include a row for your average function. You

will need to average all of the players for each year. Use the averages to create a scatter plot graph; be sure to label your axis and title your chart. Make a copy of your table and paste the new copy beneath the old one, add an additional row for your standard deviation function. Use your standard deviation to create another scatter plot graph, add error bars with specified values, using your standard deviation as your values. Dont forget to properly label and title your graph. Make a copy of your table and paste the new copy beneath the old one, add an additional row for your t-test p= function. Use your 2011-2012 raw data for array one, your 2012-2013 for your array two, and 2 tails, 2 types for the remaining blanks. Compare your P values to the Biology confidence level of 0.5, you will then either accept or reject your null hypothesis. Be sure to indicate if the data sets are significantly different. Make a copy of your table and paste the new copy beneath the old one, add an additional row for your 95% confidence level function. Formulate your confidence level numbers and use them to create another scatter plot graph, add error bars with specified values, using your confidence level data as your values. Dont forget to properly label and title your graph. Use the following slideshow from i-biology.net to assist you with your spreadsheet. You can also use this sample set of spreadsheets to learn more about the various ways to use spreadsheets in Biology. Included as a separate document is a working sample based on the data you are expected to retrieve. For teachers I have included a completed answer document.