Australian statistics poster and project competitions

Abstract

Secondary school statistics poster competitions have been running in Australia for over a decade. Students form groups of 2 – 3 students, carry out a data collection and present the results. The results have been traditionally presented in the form of a poster but in recent years Powerpoint presentations and videos have been accepted. State winners were selected by university academics, then judged by the academic team to identify a national winner in two to three categories (initially Years 7 – 10 and 11 – 12, which later changed to Years 7 – 8, 9 – 10 and 11 – 12). In 2008 the Australian Mathematics Trust became involved in the organisation of the competition. In this paper we will describe the history of the Australian Statistics Competition (ASC) and the National Primary and Secondary Student Poster Competition (NPSSPC), along with the American Statistical Association’s poster competition. Summary statistics on the topic of winning posters will be investigated. The distribution of the topics will be examined with reference to the Australian Curriculum. We will also offer suggestions that teachers can implement, in order for them to extract maximum value from participation in a statistics competition.