[Informatics] DLTV Sample SAT solution

[Fox, Richard R]

Hi all,

In the process of getting my students up and running with the SAT, I had forgotten to check the DLTV resources kit for their samples. Their example is 'an investigation into the sleeping behaviour of older and younger secondary school students'. Having read through it, it raises a few questions, which echo some of those being asked here at the moment.

Hypothesis
The scenario does not seem to follow the required pattern, i.e. 'more/less of X causes more/less of Y because of Z'. There is clearly an independent and a dependent variable but there is no stated cause, i.e. the 'because of Z' clause is missing, although it is mentioned in passing in the discussion.

Duration
The solution shows a Gantt chart spanning 10 periods of class time. Whilst SACs generally would require 10 sessions to complete, I don't see that this is how the SAT should be done. It is more a continuous project, requring sustained effort over months, especially considering it has two outcomes, one in each unit.

How many data sets?
The solution uses two sets of data. One is quantitative, being from an ABS survey. They have taken 200 data points and discarded outliers or incomplete results to choose 170. Would one consider this to be primary or secondary data? The user did not collect the data, but is raw data and the user has selected specific variables so I assume we can call this primary data. The other is qualitative, from an Age newspaper article, but it is only used in stating the purpose of the analysis. So, the conclusion here is based purely on the analysis of one set of data. This would seem to not meet the requirements of the SAT.

Referencing
A bibliography is given, referencing the ABS data set used for the analysis and the Age article mentioned. Although I am not highly versed in all of these referencing styles, these do not appear to clearly match any of the required styles looking at the examples in the textbook. Would it be expected that students nominate which style they have chosen to make it clear?

Having identified some concerns with this sample solution, I would also say that the overall tone and methodology seems highly suitable as an example.

What do other people think? Is this sample representative of what you expect from your students? Is it too simple or too difficult, does it have enough data, is the problem clearly defined?

Richard
--
Richard Fox
Teacher of IT and Science
eLearning and Learning Technologies Coordinator
Diamond Valley College
9438 1411

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