Teaching Strategies
This curriculum unit, to be implemented at the start of the school year, seeks to educate and empower my students to use Statistics to question, challenge and better understand the world around them. Given the disparities previously outlined, this unit seeks to offer a powerful opportunity for students to interrogate inequity using quantitative reasoning. Because CHEC students come from all eight wards and already observe differences in food access among their peers, instruction that connects statistical concepts to their lived experiences can deepen both engagement and understanding. The goal is not only to teach statistical methods, but to help students recognize how data reflects structural conditions such as redlining, food apartheid, and chronic disease burdens across Washington, DC.
Site Visits
This unit will begin with my students visiting and volunteering at the Capital Area Food Bank. Most of my students are seniors who need to complete community service hours prior to graduating, so this experience will be mutually beneficial for all parties. This organization works directly with DC’s most vulnerable communities to provide food access and resources to households. Additionally, these conduct thorough research on food security in DC and publish their findings annually in their Hunger Report. My students will spend a half-day learning directly from the center and participate in volunteering in the food packaging/distribution process. It is my intent that this will instantly engage students in the contents of this curriculum unit, build their awareness and empathy towards the severity of inequity as it pertains to access to food, and begin generating questions that will be addressed through the data analysis conducted.
Ward-Level Datasets
One effective strategy is to anchor instruction in authentic, ward-level datasets. This data would be provided to students to ensure accuracy and reliability. Research clearly demonstrates that Wards 7 and 8 experience the greatest burden of food insecurity and limited food access, while Ward 3 maintains the lowest rates of food insecurity and chronic disease. These contrasts provide rich opportunities for students to practice descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and data visualization.
Student-Driven Inquiry
Instruction will be structured around student-inquiry, a key tenet of a PBL curriculum unit. Because students notice disparities in their own communities, they will be encouraged to formulate research questions that matter to them. Questions such as How does proximity to grocery stores relate to diabetes rates across wards? or Is there a statistically significant difference in hypertension prevalence between food-secure and food-insecure neighborhoods? allow students to take ownership of their learning while practicing hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and regression analysis. This approach positions my course as an opportunity to view statistics not just as a math class, but as a tool to understand and contextualize the world around them.
Surveying/Neighborhood Audits
In addition to the quantitative data we will be analyzing, we will also utilize qualitative data to further aid in exploring inequity. Everyone’s lived experiences differ, particularly based on where you live in DC. Students will conduct neighborhood audits, document food environments, and interview family members about food access. Results will be anonymized, categorized, and compared to statistical findings, reinforcing mixed-methods thinking and helping students think beyond the numbers.
Mapping
Another strategy involves integrating mapping, which aligns with this unit’s emphasis on geography, particularly the divide between neighborhoods “east of the Anacostia River” and those in Northwest DC. Students will create choropleth maps and use GIS-based maps to examine trends and prevalence across DC. Mapping chronic disease alongside food access helps students understand how place shapes health outcomes and reinforces the connection between historical redlining and present-day disparities.
Statistical Reporting and Actionable Deliverable
Upon completion of this unit, I want my students to feel empowered to “do something” to address food insecurity. They will present their findings and propose a solution in the form of a policy brief that can be shared with key stakeholders in Washington, DC. Given that food insecurity is an issue that can impact everyone, these policy briefs could be shared to family members, school leadership, elected officials, and community organizations as I way for my students to feel heard and realize that they can be change agents in the world around them.
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