The development of statistical literacy among students: Analyzing messages in media articles with Gal's worry questions

Real-world data are fundamental to modern teaching methodologies that aim to improve statistical knowledge and reasoning in students. Statistical information is encountered in everyday life, such as media articles and involves real-world contexts. However, information could be biased or (mis)represented and students should be concerned about the validity of such articles, as well as the nature and trustworthiness of the evidence presented, while considering alternative interpretations of the findings conveyed to them. Statistics educators could make use of media articles to create opportunities for students to reflect on such (mis)representations and build statistical literacy. The purpose of this article is to show how information and data on the recently discovered Omicron COVID-19 variant have been (mis)represented in the media and by government entities. I also demonstrate how these examples may be utilized in the statistics classroom as they relate to concepts covered in most basic statistics courses.