Power of Box and Whisker plots

I gave my grade 11 a short test, as a tradition for every Friday. I was a bit curious to show them the applicability of Box and Whisker in real data set, since we did Data handling some time ago, but the test was on trig formulas. I therefore quickly marked their scripts!

I came back to class to give them back their papers. They were so happy to get a quick feedback. However, they did not realize that there was motive behind giving them their papers.

I quickly wrote the scores on the board, most of them realized that, these were their marks. I then asked them to work with me in arranging the scores in ascending order. They were very enthusiastic! I asked them to give out the Five number summary, they did it with a lot of accuracy and attention. I then asked to watch me drawing the Box and Whisker plot on the board.

I became evident that the students who had their marks in the first quarter are the typical culprits, often called for discipline problems and usually abscond or absent themselves. They really appreciated the power of Box and Whisker plots and wanted to ask more questions about its validity and reliability.

I was so amazed with the participation and wish I could find more to do with the Data handling real application that makes sense to students.

Comments welcome....