Education Technology


Learning to Do Linear Regressions

Activity Overview

This activity compares children's age to height to teach linear regressions. The handout includes notes for students and teachers with a step-by-step lesson on how to do 3 types of linear regressions - Best Fit line, Median Median Line and Least Squares Line.

Before the Activity

Before this lesson, students should have analyzed data by hand and learned to find the equation of the Best Fit lines (and possibly the median line) by hand. (Notes are included for the teacher.)
In this activity the student will see the complicated least squares formulas that the calculator uses to find the regression equation and the correlation coefficient. They will discover how outliners can affect the calculator's regression equation.

During the Activity

  • See the attached Word .doc file for detailed instructions for this activity
  • After the Activity

    Review student results:

  • As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
  • Re-teach concepts as necessary