Throughout the academic year, the Director of Quantitative Reasoning holds or sponsors workshops over the lunch hour. During these sessions, a specific skill or tool is highlighted. Engage with your classmates and enjoy a small bite of quantitative learning!
Fall 2021 QR Student Workshops
Data Bites, Not Data Yikes!
Take a bite out of data with Director of Quantitative Reasoning, Dr. Kathryn Appenzeller Knowles, as she shares with you secrets on how to reason and analyze numerical information. Connecting the dots between numbers and decision making, individuals exhibit skills beneficial for various organizations, professions, and functions. Learn how to evaluate and find better information to take the YIKES out of decisions.
In-Person Student Workshops
Is this reasonable?
Student Session Description: We see and hear numerical data given in news articles, sports reporting, financial statements, and many other contexts. Other times, we use numerical data in our academic lives when working with data. We or instructors may stop and ask, “Is that number reasonable?” In our response, we want to confidently answer yes or confront misinformation. In this workshop students will engage collaboratively with a few social contexts and classic instances where they may encounter this question.
Storytelling with Numbers
Student Session Description: Storytelling is an art that transports the reader into the story. Writers know how to engage an audience, set-up the storyline, evoke emotions, and create a cohesive point. Perhaps, authors want to teach a moral lesson or persuade an audience. In any case, authors may communicate with people’s hearts and minds and, often, incorporate numbers. The art of storytelling is for numbers too. In this workshop, students will investigate how numbers are used in stories to persuade readers.
Data Bites Workshop Series: Data, Data Everywhere
Join us this fall for a series of workshops introducing key data tools including data.census.gov, PolicyMap, and Social Explorer. Learn about the classroom resources, data training, and all the datasets that are available to you for free. With data on economics, political science, demographics, education, public health and so much more, there is something data here for you. All workshops will be an hour long and held online via Zoom. These events are co-sponsored by the Director of Quantitative Reasoning, the Sociology Program, and the University Library. Those interested in attending should register through the links below.
Online Student Workshops
Your Community by the Numbers: Introduction to Data.Census.gov
Student Session Description (from Census website): Learn how to use data.census.gov to access the most current and relevant demographic, socioeconomic, and housing statistics about your community from the American Community Survey (ACS). During this training, you will learn about the ACS and other Census Bureau programs, geographies, and datasets available. You will also learn how to use the search and navigation features in data.census.gov as well as how to download tables and create thematic maps.
Mapping Data with PolicyMap
Student Session Description: PolicyMap offers easy-to-use online mapping with U.S. data from multiple governmental and proprietary sources on demographics, education, public health, economics, and much more. Join us for an introductory workshop hosted by PolicyMap to learn how to find and visualize data from an extensive collection of datasets to bring your research project to the next level.
Mapping Data with Social Explorer
Student Session Description: Social Explorer provides quick and easy access to modern and historical U.S. census data and demographic information as well as other data related to crime, economics, health, politics and more. This research tool lets users create maps and reports to help visually analyze and understand demography and social change throughout history. Join us for an introductory workshop hosted by Social Explorer to learn how to navigate the database as well as create maps and tables that can be used for research projects.
Are you interested in learning more about student experiences with the quantitative reasoning resources offered by the Director of Quantitative Reasoning? Check out the video below to learn about how students value quantitative reasoning in their personal, professional, and academic lives.