You are not average: understanding mean, median, and mode in your movement practice

Discover how mean, median, and mode impact your teaching and why averages don’t tell the whole story in supporting individual students.

In this post, we'll dive into three important statistical concepts—mean, median, and mode—that you may remember from high school. You thought you won’t need that again, well here they are: they actually have significant implications for how we approach classes and sessions with our students.

The box breathing example

Imagine you have 10 students in a yoga class and introduce them to box breathing, where each phase (inhale, hold, exhale, hold) is meant to be even in length. After practicing, you ask each student how many counts they used for each phase:

Student 1: 4 counts
Student 2: 2 counts
Student 3: 4 counts
Student 4: 5 counts
Student 5: 7 counts
Student 6: 3 counts
Student 7: 3 counts
Student 8: 4 counts
Student 9: 4 counts
Student 10: 4 counts

Before we jump into the mean, median and mode, check in: how long do you usually count when box breathing? And how do you count when cueing box breathing in a class? For me, 4 jumps easily to mind. However, this example will show why a single “average” count may not be the best guide for every student.

You are not average, but studies often tell you you are

The mean (average)

The mean is the average value found in a dataset. The mean is calculated by adding up all values and dividing by the number of values. For our small sample of 10 students, we would add up all the values and then divide it by the amount of students:

(4 + 2 + 4+ 5 + 7 + 3 + 3 + 4 + 4+ 4) / 10 = 4 counts

Here, the mean is 4 counts. However, if you cue a 4-count breath for everyone, Student 2 might find it too fast, while Student 5 might feel it's too slow.

This shows that an "average" count may not fully capture the needs of every student. The mean can be helpful but doesn’t tell the whole story.

The median (the middle value)

Next we will look at the median of our small yoga class example.

The median is determined by sorting the values from lowest to highest, then picking the value in the middle:

2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 7

Since there’s an even number of values, we take the average of the two middle values:

(4 + 4) / 2 = 4

In this case, the median is also 4 counts.

While the mean and median are the same here, this won't always be the case. The median is useful because it’s less affected by outliers, or extreme values, than the mean. If Student 5 had a count of 12 instead of 7, for instance, the mean would shift higher, but the median would still likely represent the majority.

The mode (the most common value)

The mode refers to the most common value in a dataset. To determine the mode, you write down each possible value you found in your data and then count how many times each of them are present:

2 → once

3 → twice

4 → five times

5 → once

7 → once

Here, the mode is 4 counts, as it appears the most often.

The mode is particularly valuable for finding what’s common among a group. In this example, knowing the mode helps identify that most students find a 4-count comfortable.

However, if the counts vary widely, the mode might not be very meaningful. For instance, imagine each student had a different count, except for two students who counted to 13. In that case, the mode would be 13—a value that’s far from ideal for most people and likely uncomfortable for the majority!

Why these three measures matter

Please note that since all of these methods are for determining the most common or average value in a dataset, they will be close to each other or be the same. They get further apart from each other when we have a more varied dataset.

While mean, median, and mode all help us understand central tendencies, they each provide unique insights. For instance:

Mean gives an overall average but can be distorted by extremes.
Median represents the central point, offering a middle ground less influenced by outliers (extremes).
Mode highlights what’s most common, which can be helpful in gauging majority comfort.

Each of these values (mean, median, mode) offers a unique perspective on group tendencies, yet each has its limitations. When interpreting a study, remember that the mean, median, and mode represent real people with varying individual results within the dataset.

Conclusion

When reading studies or considering average results, remember that they simplify individual variation to show general trends. This is useful but not absolute. In the end, our job as teachers is to support each person’s unique needs. Statistics offer insights, but teaching is about tuning into the individual.

Summary

Mean: The average of all values, useful but can be skewed by extreme outliers.
Median: The middle value in a dataset, providing a central point that's less affected by outliers.
Mode: The most frequently occurring value, helpful in identifying what’s most common, but can be misleading if there's too much variability.

Categories: : yoga science