TERC’s Statistics for Action Helps Adults Use Math for Meaningful Environmental Change
December 4, 2009
Have you ever heard the term “Environmental Organizer”? It is a new and exciting job category that describes a person who helps communities dealing with serious environmental issues. More than twenty of them from the Toxics Action Center (TAC), Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), and the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) met at TERC in September to test new materials for Statistics for Action—an NSF-funded project aimed at improving quantitative literacy among environmental action groups. This unique project helps environmental organizers and the citizens they serve understand and communicate with data and statistics related to local environmental issues. In the words of Statistics for Action Principal Investigator Martha Merson,
“This project takes math out of the classroom and makes it visual, interactive, lively, and accessible. Helping citizens who have a lot to say about their local environment use statistical reasoning to their advantage is central to protecting the health and well-being of communities. We can all become stronger communicators and use numbers effectively and credibly with neighbors and decision makers. Environmental organizers are phenomenal resources for community members who are facing pressing environmental issues. SfA is another tool for environmental organizers in their work with community group members.”
In the morning, environmental organizers explored various stations set up around TERC. They pulled paper clips from sand samples in petri dishes; tested clear liquids with litmus and pH paper; and polluted beakers of milk with drops of lemon juice. These activities mirrored processes of environmental testing: organizers tested for the presence of contaminants (counting paper clips in sand samples), used litmus paper as a screening device (measuring acidity of clear liquids), and discovered the “observable effect” level—the point at which lemon juice curdles milk. Taking time to explore the concepts and statistical intricacies in tangible ways helped to solidify organizers’ comfort with the densely displayed test results that they often encounter in multi-page reports. “I majored in English, so I’m not overly confident in my math skills, but I found the Statistics for Action activities to be very manageable,” said Megan Jenny, the Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Coordinator for the Toxics Action Center. Jenny continued, “I think that once the Toxics Action Center finalizes how to introduce this information, I will have no problem facilitating community action group meetings using Statistics for Action activities.”
The morning activities were followed by kinesthetic and visual puzzles designed to build an intuitive sense of measurement units like milligrams, kilograms, and kilowatts. Visualizing and dealing with numbers “hands on” through activities are two of the “Smart Math Moves” that SfA recommends to help adults engage meaningfully with relevant statistics. These “math moves” provide a framework for organizers taking on the challenge of becoming facilitators of math learning. By modeling easy-to-incorporate facilitation strategies like slowing down to make topics explicit, using comparisons when speaking about quantities, using “friendly” (not prohibitively large or small) numbers to quantify hazards, and talking out the issues (questions, points of confusion, convoluted meanings) in test result data, environmental organizers lead by example. They will be encouraging community group members to use these same strategies when they reach out to neighbors and elected officials.
“The ‘Smart Math Moves’ are very helpful and a great way to approach math and science.”
MEGAN JENNY, CONNECTICUT AND WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS COORDINATOR FOR TOXICS ACTION CENTER
This initial activity pilot will be followed by subsequent meetings at TERC. Organizers will share their thoughts, questions, and suggestions based on their use of Statistics for Action activities and facilitation strategies in the field. “I feel math is an empowering tool that people should embrace and use,” said Selene Gonzalez, Open Space Organizer for the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, following the day’s activities. ”I’m excited to see what citizens will do once they realize that math is their friend in their fight for justice.”
