Rishi Krishnamoorthy
"Your Truth Isn't the Truth": Statistical Meaning-Making as Social Practice
New York University
early evening three youth producers lucas xane kasen huddle around computer schools librarythey working compiling research documentary lgbtq youth experience 2017as members afterschool documentary filmmaking program call digital studio ds youth producers yps creating voiceover script documentary film showcase within course one school semestertheir task evening find laws discriminate gay peoplehalfway allotted research time facilitator hank approaches group progress update suggests count states america proposed sexsegregated bathroom bills legislaturehowever begin task faced negotiate conditions dead bill count state multiple laws counted twiceas interaction unfolds see seemingly straightforward act counting construct statistic represents phenomenon social life anything simplethrough interactions group encounters different understandings count based disparate reasoning meaningmaking around might countspecific analysis constructing statistic voiceover simple counting number states deeply implicated emergent meaningmaking around phenomena bathroom laws along show reasoning currentfuturepast implications phenomena statistic describesin paper investigate statistical meaningmaking social practice ds school settingin classrooms statistical information often presented static truths require investigationthe statistics strand common core standards national governors association center best practices council chief state school officers 2010 goes far understand evaluate random processes underlying statistical experiments p80 focusing quality research generated data rather situating statistics complexities phenomena intereststatistics education research focused mainly statistical literacy reasoning thinking ways leave little room multiple arguments conflicting legitimate eg garfield benzvi 2007tishkovskaya lancaster 2012our research explores youth make meaning phenomena disjuncture understanding phenomena youths truthsunderstanding people negotiate reasoning around important issues using statistics especially personal social issues stake contribute might bridge disjunctures accept ttruthwe illustrate tensions arise youth engage research activity show attending tensions using multisited microanalytic approach statistical literacy reasoning thinking separate activities intertwined coconstitutivein analysis tension one youths xanes local truth social truth statistic meant represent emerged primary analytic concernwe ask students negotiate statistical meaningmaking local social worlds develop broader sociocultural understanding issuewhen local knowledge experience anecdotal information wild pfannkuch 1999 p 227 statistical facts juxtaposed mutually exclusive truths whose knowledge valued stakein posttruth era argue meaningmaking using statistics involves reasoning local knowledge statistical datathis allows opportunities engage meaningmaking toward understanding experiences others challenging privileging numbers use representations truthour