The most important thing young children can learn about data analysis is why we do it. When they understand that it might be the most effective way to answer a difficult question, they have the piece of information that makes data analysis something they might want to know more about. Knowing the purpose of data analysis motivates children to try it and to try to understand how it works.
© Erikson Institute’s Early Math Collaborative. Reprinted from Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know (2014), Pearson Education.