EMS 580 D.

Moloney
YouTube Top-Trending: Investigating Measures of Center and Variability
Mathematics Learning Objectives:
Students will describe numerical data sets using both a measure of center and variability. Students will determine
which measure of center best fits the data set. Students will interpret data within the given context.

Language Objectives:
Students will justify why their chosen measure of center best fits the data set. Students will use descriptive
statistics to describe the data set (i.e. quantitative measures of center, such as mean and median, and types of
distributions, such as skewed left or right, uniform, symmetrical, uni-/bi-/multi-modal, etc). Students will
compare their results with a classmate and provide feedback through SeeSaw. Students will engage in a
culminating discussion to emphasize the importance of reporting variability and measures of center to most
accurately describe a data set.

Essential Question:
How can we most accurately describe a data set using measures of center and variability?

Common Core State Mathematics Standards and NCSCOS:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.A.3 Recognize that a measure of center for a numerical data set summarizes all of
its values with a single number, while a measure of variation describes how its values vary with a single
number.
NC.6.SP.3 Understand that both a measure of center and a description of variability should be considered when
describing a numerical data set.
a. Determine the measure of center of a data set and understand that it is a single number that summarizes all
the values of that data set.
 Understand that a mean is a measure of center that represents a balance point or fair share of a data
set and can be influenced by the presence of extreme values within the data set.
 Understand the median as a measure of center that is the numerical middle of an ordered data set.
b. Understand that describing the variability of a data set is needed to distinguish between data sets in the
same scale, by comparing graphical representations of different data sets in the same scale that have similar
measures of center, but different spreads.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5 Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by:
C. Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range
and/or mean absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations
from the overall pattern with reference to the context in which the data were gathered.
D. Relating the choice of measures of center and variability to the shape of the data distribution and the
context in which the data were gathered.
NC.6.SP.5 Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context.
b. Analyze center and variability by:
 Giving quantitative measures of center, describing variability, and any overall pattern, and noting any
striking deviations.
 Justifying the appropriate choice of measures of center using the shape of the data distribution.

Common Core State Mathematical Practice Standards:

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics.

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EMS 580 D. Moloney
Materials:
- Student handout
- Launch video link
- Padlet link
- SeeSaw link
- One computer per group (including microphone)
- Projector for displaying student work to class

Notes to the reader:

For this lesson, students should already have experience using CODAP and SeeSaw. They should be
familiar with the shapes of distributions and the terms used to describe them. Students should be familiar
with the terms mean and median and understand how they are calculated. Finally, students should

Detailed Plan for Instructional Time

Time What is the teacher doing? (Be sure to include What are students doing? If they are
questions the teacher will ask and academic interacting with a technology tool or other
language supports and details of technologies or materials, please describe.
other materials used)
Launch The teacher shows the class the following video clip: Top 10 Students view the video clip as a class.
(10 min) Globally Trending YouTube Videos Of 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJb0jiezvYw

After viewing the clip, the teacher asks students to define Students share their background knowledge of top-trending
“top-trending videos” and shares the definition. videos.
- Top-trending, as defined by YouTube, means that a
video is unique and popular with many audiences

Next, the teacher should ask students to consider some
characteristics of top-trending videos.
After brainstorming a list of characteristics, the teacher
introduces the task.
- The teacher should review the following terms before
beginning, building off students’ prior experience with
the statistics content:
o Quantitative attribute
o Measure of center (how do you know if it “fits”
the data?)
o Distribution (skewed, symmetrical, uniform,
etc)
Investig The teacher divides students into pairs (predetermined,
ate pairing students who are strong with their statistical reasoning their partner (one computer per pair).
(40 min) and CODAP skills with students still developing these skills).
Teacher circulates around the room and asks guiding or
clarifying questions as needed.
For students who need support:
- What attribute are you analyzing? How can you represent
that visually?
- What are measures of center we could use to describe the
____ of this data set? How can we use CODAP to calculate
these?
Characteristics of top-trending videos (possible student
responses):
- Number of views or likes
- Coming from a certain channel, with specific tags
- Comments from viewers
- In this task, students will use CODAP to investigate top-
trending videos. They will create representations of the
data and analyze the distributions. They will answer
questions on the student handout.
Students begin investigating the data set on CODAP with
Students should use the graphing tool in CODAP to visually
represent one quantitative attribute of the data set (number of
views, likes, or comments). They should use the mean and
median tools to calculate these measures of center. They may
include a box plot to consider the spread of data.
Students use this information to answer the questions on their
student sheet.
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EMS 580
- Once pairs have finished answering the questions, they take a
As students are investigating the data:
- Why did you choose __________ as the best measure of
center? What makes it a better choice than _________?
- How would you describe the shape of this distribution?
Where do you see variability in it?
- Are there any extreme values in this data set? What do they
have in common?
- - Describe the shape of your distribution.
For students who need an extension:
- What would you expect as a typical number of _____ for a
top-trending YouTube video? What would be an
unreasonable number of _____ for a top-trending video?
How do you know?
- Compare and contrast the videos with the most view and the
most likes of all top-trending videos. Do they have anything
in common?
Possible misconceptions and student questions:
- Students may think the mean is a better choice for
skewed distributions than the median because “it’s
more in the middle of both ends”.
- Students may think the “new top-trending video”
does not fit the data set because the values are lower
than the mean and median predicted.
- Students may have questions about how to describe a
skewed distribution, either skewed left or right.
- Students may have questions about how many of the
extreme values to remove (just the top 10? Top 20?
Only certain channels?).
As students investigate the data on CODAP and record a
video of their findings, the teacher should notice the
statistical thinking of each pair and record observations.
These notes will be used to partner groups on SeeSaw and
sequence a whole class discussion to conclude the lesson.
Connect As groups finish their partner investigation, the teacher pairs
(20 min) them with another group to view and critique one another’s
work on SeeSaw.
The teacher should pair groups together that looked at
different variables (likes, comments, views) or that came to
different conclusions (used different measures of center,
different descriptions of the distribution). This way groups
will have more to discuss in terms of similarities and
differences in their representations and findings.
As groups critique one another’s work, the teacher monitors
group work to ensure that students are focusing on the
mathematical similarities and differences and responding
respectfully to their classmates. The teacher should also
monitor the videos and comments posted on SeeSaw.
D. Moloney
screenshot of their work and record a voiceover using SeeSaw
to describe their findings and conclusions. The video clip
should hit the following points and should be less than 2
minutes in total. Students should practice with their partners
before recording.
- Name the attribute you chose to analyze.
- Explain how you chose the best measure of center.
- Explain how your distribution and measures of center
changed if you removed extreme values.
- Explain how you knew whether or not the new video
could be considered a "typical" top-trending video for
2017.
Click here to watch sample student response.
https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_item?item_id=item.f206
91d0-b9ef-4826-b16f-
7614a606c77f&share_token=W70lQszVQuiuUFr4uS09fQ&
mode=share
Responses to misconceptions and questions:
- “Think about where most of the data points lie. Even
though the mean is more in the middle of the range of
the data, that’s not where MOST of the values exist.”
- “Are there top trending videos with a similar number
of views as this new video? Comments? Likes?” (Even
though these statistics are less than the measures of
center predicted, they are still consistent with top-
trending videos.)
- “Skewed data sets have a “tail” of extreme values that
pulls the mean closer to the extremes. You call it
“skewed right” if the extreme values are to the right
and “skewed left” if the extremes are to the left.”
- “You can remove as many data points as necessary to
eliminate the extreme values. Consider whether these
values have something in common (i.e. a specific
channel) to help you determine which to hide.”
Students watch their assigned video clip. They should notice
whether the other group’s findings were similar or different to
theirs, considering the following questions.
- Did the other group use the same measure of center?
Why or why not?
- Did the other group notice a similar distribution? Did
they describe it the same way? Why or why not?
- Did the other group notice any extreme values? Were
these values related? How does that compare to your
group?
After viewing the clip, the pair should post one or two
comments on their peers’ video. They should answer at least
two of the questions above to compare and contrast the
group’s findings with their own.
Finally, the pair should read the comments on their own
video. With any remaining time, the group can watch and
comment on other groups’ videos.
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EMS 580 D. Moloney
Discuss Before the discussion begins, the teacher should select 2-3 The student groups selected by the teacher should share their
(15 min) student groups to share their findings on the best measure of findings, one by one. They should show their findings on the
center, the distribution of data, and any extreme values. The computer and explain their thinking.
teacher should choose groups whose work can bring the class
to a deeper understanding of these topics. The sequence could As they listen, the rest of the class should focus on what their
include any of the following: classmates are sharing. They should be able to repeat, agree,
- A group whose work is similar to many in the class, or disagree. Some groups may have a comment to add on or a
followed by a group whose work is more sophisticated connection to their own work to share.
but may not be similar to others
- A group who made an error, followed by a group who
show a correct view
- A sequence of groups whose thinking becomes more
well-justified and increases in complexity

The discussion should bring out these key points.

- For a measure of center to best fit the data, it should
summarize most of the data and not be influenced by
outliers. Because the mean is more easily affected by
extreme, the median is often a more representative
measure of center for skewed distributions.
- Terms used to describe distributions include skewed
left or right, uniform, symmetrical, uni-/bi-/multi-
modal. Most of these distributions are skewed right
because top-trending videos from the most popular
channels (YouTube Spotlight, Marvel) tend to have
more views/ comments/ likes than other channels. It is
important to describe this variability in addition to the
measures of center because using both paints a more
accurate picture of the data set.
- When we look at the extreme values, most tend to be
from the same channels. When we eliminate these
channels, a different picture emerges. The mean shifts
closer to the median and becomes a more
representative measure of center. The distribution also
becomes more symmetrical and less skewed.

Once groups have time to post their comments, the class

should come together for a culminating discussion. The
teacher leads discussion on findings, highlighting the selected
student groups. The teacher’s focus should be on facilitating
the conversation rather than talking in place of the students.
The teacher should use talk moves to guide the class and
emphasize the key points outlined above.
- Revoicing – “If I heard correctly, you said…”
- Repeating – “Who can repeat what ______ said?
- Adding on – “Who can add on?”
- Agree/disagree – “Do you agree or disagree? Why?”
- Connection – “Who can connect to what ____ said?”

Possible questions to guide discussion:

- What connections do you see between this
representation and the previous one?
- How do the measures of center accurately reflect the
data set? Where do they fail?
- How can we represent the variability of this
distribution in our description?
- Why is it important to describe a data set using
measures of center and a description of its shape?

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EMS 580 D. Moloney
Summar To assess what the students’ learned during the lesson, the To summarize their learning, students respond to the
ize teacher uses a Padlet to collect student responses. The teacher following prompt via Padlet.
(5 min) should monitor students, making sure they understand how to “What is one thing you learned about measures of center or
use the technology and answer the question. Once all students describing distributions today?”
have submitted their response, the teacher can analyze the
data to learn whether the students met the learning objectives.

** CODAP file courtesy of CODAP and Kaggle (https://www.kaggle.com/datasnaek/youtube)

Appendix:

Link to YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJb0jiezvYw

Link to CODAP file: https://codap.concord.org/releases/latest/static/dg/en/cert/index.html?url=https://concord-

consortium.github.io/codap-data/SampleDocs/Other/YouTube/YouTube.codap

Link to Padlet: https://padlet.com/danielle_moloney/yojep678t7kv

Link to SeeSaw:
https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=upN9QkL1Sd2brFFhRtjRIQ&prompt_id=prompt.4f2c0f9
a-af97-42d8-98c0-d07fd45d4cab

Link to Student Handout:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nXWK1IL6SnIG1GNHEIa2En9g8df6JP6DSN6N0CTdE0I/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Sample Responses: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10-

t80CHIQwVgNQzCZuW820NJegBZPDgF79RJ9jC23P8/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Sample SeeSaw Response: https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_item?item_id=item.f20691d0-b9ef-4826-

b16f-7614a606c77f&share_token=W70lQszVQuiuUFr4uS09fQ&mode=share