As I reflected today on what questions a person analyzing data should ask themselves, I spent a good deal of time thinking about context. I stress context to all of my students, whether they be in Algebra I or AP Statistics. However, one area where context is often woefully ignored is in statistics. A good example of this is the medical field, which for years didn't differentiate between statistical significance and practical significance.
This is a lesson that I keep finding myself pausing to consider as I work on the training materials that I am developing. The people that work for Hy-Vee on a full time basis can look at things in a completely different light, than I can because of the experience that they have in the grocery business. The extent of my retail knowledge comes from the 3 years I spent as a bagger/stocker at Hy-Vee while I was in high school. I didn't get to make a lot of decisions that affected the bottom line in that position.
A product may show up on a report as a slow mover, that means that it doesn't sell a lot. However, that product may be a local product that is carried exclusively by Hy-Vee. The store may also have a customer that comes to Hy-Vee specifically to purchase that product. This is all context that "people on the ground" have, that a "suit" sitting in a cubicle can't see by just looking at numbers.
This concept can be extended to education. As relevance becomes increasingly stressed, it's important to remember that in mathematics not everything can be relevant. Sometimes we study concepts for their sheer beauty. Context IS important.
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