Learning Goals
Students will be able to analyze La Palma indicators—including population density, housing costs, household income, commute time, educational attainment, and park acreage—to identify patterns in daily life, opportunity, and community wellbeing.
Students will be able to calculate population estimates, household estimates, demographic counts, and park acreage per 1,000 residents to interpret the scale and meaning of La Palma community data.
Students will be able to evaluate whether mean, standard deviation, and a normal-distribution model are appropriate for selected community data and estimate population percentages when the model is justified.
Students will be able to evaluate La Palma data reports and spreadsheet visualizations for accuracy, source dates, rounding, measure type, missing variables, anomalous findings, and possible misleading representations.
Students will be able to investigate the societal and ethical implications of collecting, processing, and using demographic, neighborhood-level, transportation, housing, and health data, including potential uses of AI.
Students will be able to justify an evidence-based conclusion about how well La Palma meets residents’ needs, acknowledge limitations and alternative interpretations, identify additional data needed, and communicate a practical community recommendation.
Products
La Palma Community Data Investigation Notebook
Each student documents calculations, evaluates reports and visualizations, tests or rejects a normal model with justification, audits data quality and ethics, and independently answers both essential questions with evidence, limitations, and needed additional data. The notebook supplies verified evidence and analysis for the team product.
State of La Palma Community Wellbeing Brief and Gallery Presentation
Teams synthesize members’ investigations into a one-page brief and two annotated spreadsheet visualizations, then deliver a three-minute public presentation that assesses residents’ needs, explains statistical and ethical limitations, recommends one practical action, and responds to audience questions.
No rubric has been generated yet.