Proceedings

  • In epistemological studies, two main interpretations of probabilities are the frequentist and the Bayesian. In this paper we first show that both interpretations are present in French Secondary schools, albeit the official curriculum only supports the frequentist approach. We then suggest a possible teaching situation to introduce teachers and students to the subjective-objective duality with some statistics training situations via the use of problem solving. We also give some characteristics and conditions useful to build situations fitted to this goal.

  • This case study report describes a training activity for in-service teachers working on a project related to statistical literacy. Collected data from the solutions to a problem given to the students are taken into account. The problem was chosen to give teachers the opportunity to reflect on their methods for teaching statistics and probability. Results about student understanding of statistical and classical probability and about the teacher methodologies to present these key concepts are described.

  • Although most interesting problems are multivariate (MV) and students and citizens need to be able to reason using MV data, appropriate challenges are rarely encountered in class. In this paper we argue that the curriculum (and ideas about statistical literacy) should encompass reasoning with MV data. Statistics education can occur in a range of disciplines and in informal setting - notably on the web. Strategically, there is a need for dialogue with educators in other disciplines. We also argue for greater collaboration with data providers, who are engaging increasingly in 'People Net' (PN) activities-in short, a reconceptualisation of the education community. The SMART Centre has developed generic software shells that facilitate the import of MV data into interactive displays. We also describe their successful use in Citizenship classrooms where students interpret large-scale survey data on topics such as sexually transmitted infections and drug use.

  • In Portugal like in many other countries we can find statistics in the mathematics curriculum, and statistics is taught in mathematics classes by mathematics teachers until the university level. During the compulsory levels most Portuguese students learn statistics in a traditional way. In this paper, we analyse dialogues of 7th grade students during collaborative work. The main objective was to understand some benefits of this kind of work on students' statistical reasoning. Our results suggest that collaborative work improves students' statistical reasoning as a result of the discussions and clarifications of their ideas and resolutions but also shows that this kind of work plays an important role in supporting students' development of positive orientations towards statistics.

  • This report focuses on a research project that combines two aspects of a statistics curriculum related to teachers' classroom practice and their students' statistical knowledge. Data were collected with questionnaires. The development of the questionnaires derived from results of a qualitative research project will be sketched. Afterwards, some results will be discussed.

  • Although knowledge about how to improve statistics teaching is steadily increasing, still very little is known about what statistics teachers actually know, think, and do in their classrooms. The present study is a first attempt to shed more light on the issue. Experienced mathematics teachers were asked about their views of statistics in general and of current curricula, as well as about their impressions of their students' views and abilities regarding statistics. In addition, they were asked to indicate what good statistics instruction should look like. We found that in general, teachers as well as students are quite interested in statistics but that students apparently experience greater difficulties in statistics classes than in classes on other mathematical topics. We identify several potential impediments to effective statistics instruction that might be good starting points for attempts to improve statistics education in German schools.

  • I analyze data from the attitudes of 56 preservice primary teachers related to their role as continuing students of statistics. The variables investigated include preservice primary teachers' (1) attitudes toward future professional development in statistics, (2) current knowledge of statistics, (3) current statistical self-efficacy, and (4) current self-efficacy to learn statistics in the future. My results suggest that (1) current self-efficacy to learn statistics in the future is a moderate predictor of preservice primary teacher beliefs that future professional development in statistics will help their classroom teaching, and (2) current self-efficacy to learn statistics in the future can vary for preservice primary teachers throughout their preparation program.

  • The degree to which statistics teaching focuses on rules or on critical thinking depends on teachers' perceptions of and knowledge of statistics, along with their pedagogical content knowledge. This paper reports findings from a brief study with 27 pre-service primary teachers. The teachers completed a survey and planned a lesson for a grade six class, based on a resource that offered rich data and opportunities for addressing issues of statistical literacy. The survey responses and teaching plans analysis reveal an ambivalent attitude towards statistics and an inability or unwillingness to engage deeply with the resource. Most teaching plans focused on correct graphs and rules for presentation or calculation of statistics but put little if any emphasis on understanding the data source or its implications. This simple task provided insight into the pre-service teachers' knowledge and perceptions, as well as their priorities for their students.

  • We summarize three studies aimed at assessing teachers' attitudes towards statistics. In the first study the comparison of prospective and in-service primary school teachers' attitudes towards statistics revealed no differences. The second study explores the structure of pre-service teachers' attitudes towards statistics and its relationships with statistical knowledge. We finally present the preliminary results of an on-going study, where an open-ended questionnaire is used to find potential explanations for prospective teachers' positive or negative attitudes.

  • This report considers the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of 42 teachers selected to be part of a professional learning program in statistics. As part of a profile measuring many aspects of teacher confidence, beliefs, teaching practice, assessment practice, and background, PCK is addressed through responses to student survey items and how the items could be used in the classroom. Rasch analysis is used to obtain a measure of teacher ability in relation to PCK. Based on measured ability, three hierarchical clusters of teacher ability are identified, and the characteristics of each described in terms of the items likely to be achieved. These are exemplified with kidmaps of individual teachers' performances from each of the three clusters.

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