We explore the tensions between cooperation and competition in the context of improving the content, delivery and penetration of statistics education. We explore models for increasing the numbers of students studying statistics and how working in teams can increase the quality of the teaching that students experience.
Istat, the Italian national statistical institute, in co-operation with professors of statistics, scientific societies and experts in web communication, produced The Worth of Data, hypertext materials for promoting and improving statistical literacy. We present the experience from two viewpoints: (i) the process for designing and implementing hypertext; (ii) and the ways selected for improving statistical literacy. The first aspect involved the decision to focus on the concept of awareness: not only as to when and how to use statistical data, but also on how to be discerning about sources, their quality and reliability … The second aspect concerned the language and confirmed that to deliver content in plain language, without losing scientific precision, is indeed a difficult task. To achieve good results, it is necessary to make use of the various skills within a good team. Each expert should give up a little turf and contribute knowledge to attain a common outcome worth communicating.
A well known dilemma for statistics educators is that while different groups of students learn best in different ways (see for example Cotts, 1994), usually there are only a few instructors for a course operating within tight time and content constraints, especially at first year university level. I will outline a way of partially accommodating the needs of indigenous and migrant students of first year statistics, arrived at by co-operation with the local community and taking their aspirations into account. We also kept in mind what the students themselves wanted from the course and how they planned to use statistics in their lives. Our programme has achieved successful outcomes for many of these students and while we work within a New Zealand framework there are many aspects of our programme that can be adapted in other countries.
This article will discuss the research currently underway at PUC-São Paulo that represents links between Mathematics Education and Statistics Education. We shall discuss how these two areas of knowledge are entwined, verifying the advantages and consequences of these inter-relationships. The National Curriculum Parameters, which specify the Mathematics curriculum for the Brazilian school system, require one block of study involving the discussion of the themes Statistics, Probability, and Discrete Mathematics. These themes are considered throughout the entire 11-year period of basic education (students begin school at age 7) and also in the University. Research related to this problem is beginning to emerge, focusing not only on pre-service or in-service education of teachers, but also related to the learning processes of students, or to research interventions involving both teachers and students.
Statistics is generally taught in schools as part of the mathematical curriculum and, as a result, statistics is perceived as a mathematical concept. Moreover, the teaching emphasis is often placed on the computation of statistical information instead of the development of an " authentic data analysis point of view" (Cobb, 1999). In this paper we consider whether a constructive relationship between statistics and mathematics is possible? We examine examples of statistical teaching situations and analyze them both from a mathematical content point of view and from a statistical perspective, to point out that the interaction between mathematics and statistics is in fact feasible/(practicable). To achieve this, it is necessary to complete a mathematical conceptual analysis of statistical concepts. It is essential to highlight the mathematical concepts beneath the statistical concepts in order to link both of them in creating classroom activities.
The paper describes a project involving cooperative learning of statistical topics implemented in a web environment. The project is the result of a fruitful partnership between the Faculty of Statistics of the University of Bologna and the Institute of Educational Research of the Emilia Romagna Region. The synergy between mathematics and statistics offers a concrete example of theoretical method application in order to investigate the real world. The positive effects of cooperative learning can be broadened to a larger learning-teaching community. It makes it possible to create a virtual place where it is possible to realize a cooperative learning milieu. This methodology is particularly useful for statistics, given both the specificity of the discipline and the fact that teaching of the subject often represents a novelty for mathematics teachers. Problems connected with real life are presented on the web and project participants may communicate through the network.
This paper highlights the need for teaching statistics with real data in order to make statistics attractive and meaningful to social sciences students. Data coming from current research work are ideal for teaching. Students become interested in statistics and keep their interest as long as statistics is applied to data related to their own fields. Promoting discussion in class around current social issues also emphasizes the value of data to public policy, and the need for social theories to explain and interpret social data. This paper also stresses the need for a textbook concentrating on statistical concepts and thinking, with many real-life examples illustrating the relevance of statistics to understand social issues and making the introductory statistics course an attractive and enlightening course for social sciences students.
The present research focuses on prospective teachers' planning, teaching and reflection on young children's (4 to 6 year-old) stochastic activities. The research also concentrates on the way in which prospective teachers view the activity in terms of the mathematical challenge it offers and the development of children's stochastic ideas (Potari & Jaworski, 2002). The methodology of this research is based on the qualitative approach. The researchers analysed twenty-three prospective teachers' lesson plans and actual teaching, interviewed them after their lessons and finally analysed their self-assessment reports. An initial analysis of the data shows that prospective teachers appreciated the importance of using tools in their classrooms for teachings stochastics. However, from our classroom observations we identified that the activity was often mathematically trivialized and the children's involvement was limited. The discussion and self-assessment that took place after the lessons indicated the different degree of prospective teachers' awareness of pedagogical and mathematical issues.
As part of the Australian national online curriculum initiative, The Learning Federation is developing hundreds of multimedia learning objects for use in schools. Some of these learning objects are designed to allow children to explore some basic concepts of probability and statistics, such as the relationships between random generators, sample spaces, likelihood of outcomes and both short and long run data on frequency of outcomes. This paper reports on the initial design development of these learning objects and on plans to research their use with children aged 6 to 12 years.
In this study, we examined the role of context knowledge in data analysis tasks and investigated the interplay between students' use of context knowledge and statistical knowledge. Findings showed that knowledge of context was an important factor contributing to students' engagement in statistical tasks. Students used context knowledge in three broad ways: to rationalize the data or their interpretations, in taking a critical stance toward the data, and in ways that were not necessarily productive or pertinent in addressing the task at hand.