The Teaching And Learning Of Statistics

This book presents the breadth and diversity of empirical and practical work done on statistics education around the world. A wide range of methods are used to respond to the research questions that form it's base. Case studies of single students or teachers aimed at understanding reasoning processes, large-scale experimental studies attempting to generalize trends in the teaching and learning of statistics are both employed. Various epistemological stances are described and utilized. The teaching and learning of statistics is presented in multiple contexts in the book. These include designed settings for young children, students in formal schooling, tertiary level students, vocational schools, and teacher professional development. A diversity is evident also in the choices of what to teach (curriculum), when to teach (learning trajectory), how to teach (pedagogy), how to demonstrate evidence of learning (assessment) and what challenges teachers and students face when they solve statistical problems (reasoning and thinking).

Teaching Statistics in School Mathematics-Challenges for Teaching and Teacher Education results from the Joint ICMI/IASE Study Teaching Statistics in School Mathematics: Challenges for Teaching and Teacher Education. Oriented to analyse the teaching of statistics in school and to recommend improvements in the training of mathematics teachers to encourage success in preparing statistically literate students, the volume provides a picture of the current situation in both the teaching of school statistics and the pre-service education of mathematics teachers. A primary goal of Teaching Statistics in School Mathematics-Challenges for Teaching and Teacher Education is to describe the essential elements of statistics, teacher’s professional knowledge and their learning experiences. Moreover, a research agenda that invites new research, while building from current knowledge, is developed. Recommendations about strategies and materials, available to train prospective teachers in university and in-service teachers who have not been adequately prepared, are also accessible to the reader.

′This book should prove to be an important addition to the relatively few publications that exist on statistical thinking. It very nicely encourages the reader to take an active learning approach through simultaneously promoting pedagogy with knowledge and skills enhancement in statistics. Understanding what the subject is for and what it can do are crucial in statistical education - by getting the reader to think statistically Mr Graham has provided us with a very readable book that helps to dispel the poor reputation that statistics has acquired over many years′ - Professor Neville Davies, Director, Royal Statistical Society Centre for Statistical Education, Nottingham Trent University Statistics is a key area of the school mathematics curriculum where maths and the real world meet. Although potentially a subject where teaching can be motivating and relevant to everyday concerns, it is often seen as boring and involving largely mechanical calculations. This book will enable teachers and others interested in statistical thinking to become excited and inspired by the big ideas of statistics and, in turn, teach them enthusiastically learners. Designed to heighten awareness of statistical ideas, the book explores key themes within statistics using ideas developed by the influential team at The Open University′s Centre for Mathematics Education. Themes include: · Measurement · Variation · Randomness · Uncertainty Arranged in an accessible task-based format, this is an essential text for all secondary maths teachers and students of maths education. It is a comprehensive book that will illuminate and inspire interest in the subject, based on innovative use of ICT, engaging narrative, firm research and good practice. Developing Thinking in Statistics is a set book on the Open University Course ME626 Developing Statistical Thinking, part of the Graduate Diploma in Mathematics Education.

This handbook connects the practice of statistics to the teaching and learning of the subject with contributions from experts in several disciplines. Chapters present current challenges and methods of statistics education in the changing world for statistics and mathematics educators. Issues addressed include current and future challenges in professional development of teachers, use of technology tools, design of learning environments and appropriate student assessments. This handbook presents challenging and inspiring international research perspectives on the history and nature, current issues, and future directions of statistics education and statistics education research.

Students in the sciences, economics, psychology, social sciences, and medicine take introductory statistics. Statistics is increasingly offered at the high school level as well. However, statistics can be notoriously difficult to teach as it is seen by many students as difficult and boring, if not irrelevant to their subject of choice. To help dispel these misconceptions, Gelman and Nolan have put together this fascinating and thought-provoking book. Based on years of teaching experience the book provides a wealth of demonstrations, examples and projects that involve active student participation. Part I of the book presents a large selection of activities for introductory statistics courses and combines chapters such as, 'First week of class', with exercises to break the ice and get students talking; then 'Descriptive statistics' , collecting and displaying data; then follows the traditional topics - linear regression, data collection, probability and inference. Part II gives tips on what does and what doesn't work in class: how to set up effective demonstrations and examples, how to encourage students to participate in class and work effectively in group projects. A sample course plan is provided. Part III presents material for more advanced courses on topics such as decision theory, Bayesian statistics and sampling.

Increased attention is being paid to the need for statistically educated citizens: statistics is now included in the K-12 mathematics curriculum, increasing numbers of students are taking courses in high school, and introductory statistics courses are required in college. However, increasing the amount of instruction is not sufficient to prepare statistically literate citizens. A major change is needed in how statistics is taught. To bring about this change, three dimensions of teacher knowledge need to be addressed: their knowledge of statistical content, their pedagogical knowledge, and their statistical-pedagogical knowledge, i.e., their specific knowledge about how to teach statistics. This book is written for mathematics and statistics educators and researchers. It summarizes the research and highlights the important concepts for teachers to emphasize, and shows the interrelationships among concepts. It makes specific suggestions regarding how to build classroom activities, integrate technological tools, and assess students’ learning. This is a unique book. While providing a wealth of examples through lessons and data sets, it is also the best attempt by members of our profession to integrate suggestions from research findings with statistics concepts and pedagogy. The book’s message about the importance of listening to research is loud and clear, as is its message about alternative ways of teaching statistics. This book will impact instructors, giving them pause to consider: "Is what I’m doing now really the best thing for my students? What could I do better?" J. Michael Shaughnessy, Professor, Dept of Mathematical Sciences, Portland State University, USA This is a much-needed text for linking research and practice in teaching statistics. The authors have provided a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art in statistics education research. The insights they have gleaned from the literature should be tremendously helpful for those involved in teaching and researching introductory courses. Randall E. Groth, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education, Salisbury University, USA

An issue in the current push for reform in mathematics education is the call to address statistics at the precollege level. This volume represents the emerging findings of an interdisciplinary collaboration among a group of mathematics educators, cognitive scientists, teachers, and statisticians to construct an understanding of how to introduce statistics education and assessment for students in elementary and secondary schools. A premise shared by the contributors to this volume is that when students are introduced to statistics at the K-12 level and provided with opportunities to do statistics that are related to actual life situations, they will be better prepared for decision making in the real world. The interdisciplinary nature of the group of researchers stimulated a lively interchange of ideas for enhancing the learning, teaching, and assessment of statistical understanding, which is reflected in this volume. Mathematics educators contribute their insights into how teachers teach mathematical ideas and heighten our awareness of the ecological needs of the current mathematics classroom. Cognitive scientists share their understanding of developmental differences in learning and present theoretical perspectives that contribute to the design of effective learning environments. Classroom teachers share their ideas about classroom activities and assessment of student learning, as well as their concerns for in-service training and workshops to help teachers acquire skills in this new content area. Statisticians offer their understanding of what is feasible to teach in the early grades, and what their view is of statistical literacy. The book is organized around four interdependent themes: content, teaching, learning, and assessment. By focusing their respective chapters on particular themes, the authors intend to cultivate a better understanding of how each relates to improvements in statistics education. This is the first book to: * address statistics learning in grades K-12, * address issues of statistical curriculum content in grades K-12, * address issues of assessment of statistics learning in grades K-12, * bring issues of technology instruction and assessment in statistics education in grades K-12, and * look at teacher education for statistics instruction in grades K-12. This is a must-read book for both practitioners and researchers involved in K-12 mathematics education.

This book summarizes the vast amount of research related to teaching and learning probability that has been conducted for more than 50 years in a variety of disciplines. It begins with a synthesis of the most important probability interpretations throughout history: intuitive, classical, frequentist, subjective, logical propensity and axiomatic views. It discusses their possible applications, philosophical problems, as well as their potential and the level of interest they enjoy at different educational levels. Next, the book describes the main features of probabilistic thinking and reasoning, including the contrast to classical logic, probability language features, the role of intuitions, as well as paradoxes and the relevance of modeling. It presents an analysis of the differences between conditioning and causation, the variability expression in data as a sum of random and causal variations, as well as those of probabilistic versus statistical thinking. This is followed by an analysis of probability’s role and main presence in school curricula and an outline of the central expectations in recent curricular guidelines at the primary, secondary and high school level in several countries. This book classifies and discusses in detail the three different research periods on students’ and people’s intuitions and difficulties concerning probability: early research focused on cognitive development, a period of heuristics and biases programs, and the current period marked by a multitude of foci, approaches and theoretical frameworks.