We Need to Talk About Statistics - Neil Sheldon, Teaching Statistics Trust

Explore the importance of language in statistical understanding and teaching in this Teaching Statistics Trust Lecture. Delve into the shift from formulaic calculations to interpretation in statistics education, emphasizing the need for clear communication. Examine how everyday language overlaps with statistical terminology, potentially hindering student comprehension, and discover how a richer vocabulary can enhance understanding. Investigate the role of statistics in citizenship and media interpretation, highlighting common misunderstandings stemming from imprecise language. Through practical examples, learn how careful language use can improve statistical comprehension for teachers, students, and citizens alike, covering topics such as formulating inquiries, interpreting data, and effectively communicating conclusions.

Introduction
The Teaching Statistics Trust
Teaching Statistics
Statistics
Data science and statistics
Understanding the real world
Statistical understanding
The hold of the story
The average
The distribution
Why does this matter
The spurious precision
The skewed distribution
Healthy weight
Quantity variation
Another warning
Typical result
Average Australian woman
People are confused
Why we get the jobs
Helen MacGillivray
Language of significance
Statistics of grading
A true story
Language significance
Outlier
Outliers
Significant results
Conditional probability
Matching DNA
Sally Clark
Why do we do this
Different forms of inference
Argument from effect