Video Quiz (Alternative Assessment)

In this assessment, we watch the beautiful work of Chris Jordan and pause it with key questions. 

Here is the video (you can download it as well here:

 http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/chris_jordan_pictures_some_shocking_stats.html

Source URL:  http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/chris_jordan_pictures_some_shocking_stats.html

Teacher's Note: I recommend watching the whole video to make sure each stat is appropriate for your class. I usually omit the 7th statistic as it is about breast augmentation. 

The questions I ask for the assessment change throughout the day, but they are always based on the stats he gives. I like to offer several scaffolded questions after each stat. For example, when he mentions that 1 million plastic cups are used every 6 hours on airline flights, I might ask:

1. Write this number in scientific notation
2. How many would this be in a day? (in SN)
3. How many would this be in a week? (in SN)

Here are some other sample questions: The Art of Statistics Sample Questions

After we go through all the questions, I skip the breast augmentation and show a bit of his closing speech, which is about the importance of big numbers in our lives. You can find a lot of other fantastic pieces of art on his page: 

http://www.chrisjordan.com/gallery/rtn/#unsinkable

I usually add a homework assignment where  I ask students to analyze his art with a question of their own.