TQ #7 Gapminder

I used GapMinder to compare math achievement in 8th grade with expenditure per student at the secondary level (represented by % of GDP per capita). I compared the countries of the U.S., Iran, Australia, and Japan from the years of 1998 to 2005. It is interesting because from the graph, it can be gleaned that as the expenditure per student rose (however, only minimally), the math achievement in all countries being compared decreased a bit in all countries except for the U.S., which seemed to rise about five points.
I think that GapMinder can be a powerful tool in education that helps foster higher-level thinking in students. It provides great visuals that can be intriguing to both teachers and students, and it is relatively easy to use. After a few instructional and practice sessions, I think that students would be able to use it independently. The use of GapMinder in schools can help students understand how the countries in which they live compare with other countries around the world over time, given assigned attributes on respective axes.
Some problems I foresee are that the topics listed for the axes might not be appropriate for all age and grade levels. The topics/labels that are currently present would not be appropriate or interesting for students definitely at the elementary level, and maybe not even for the middle school level. I realize that GapMinder was developed in collaboration with universities, governmental agencies, and other adult-oriented organizations (Carnegie Council); however, I think it would be a great tool to use in public schools at all levels if appropriate topics would be available.

http://www.policyinnovations.org/innovators/organizations/data/gapminder (Carnegie Council