Proceedings

  • The statistics teacher is a very rare breed in England. Statistics is a relatively recent addition to our school curriculum and is still treated very much as an application of mathematics. There is, however, a small, but hopefully growing, band of enthusiastic teachers who wish to become better teachers of statistics. They find themselves enjoying the statistics teaching which is creeping into schools particularly following the introduction of a compulsory National Curriculum which includes "Data Handling" as one of its topics. Very few of the teachers will have studied statistics beyond school level and fewer still will have had any training in how best to teach the subject. At The Centre for Statistical Education we have always been concerned to promote and improve the teaching of statistics, and we decided that one of the ways in which we could do this was to offer a postgraduate Diploma in Statistics and Statistical Education, a dual course which attempts to improve the teachers' understanding of statistics itself as well as explaining ways of improving their teaching of the subject.

  • The inclusion of statistics and probability in the mathematics curriculum in secondary schools in the United States is now regarded as a necessity. While imparting these skills to all our high school graduates implies an increased level of mathematical training in general, it implies in particular that statistics and probability become part of the normal high school curriculum, probably, although not limited to, the mathematics curriculum. Teachers, by and large, have either had no statistics courses, or those they have had have been regarded as obstacles in their programmes. It is curiously easy to find teachers (as well as other college graduates) who look back on a statistics course as containing totally incomprehensible material punctuated by impressive and less than meaningful formulas in large numbers. Those of us who dare admit to teaching statistics for some time bear the burden of not having explained ourselves. We have failed to tell our students what our subject is about and we have also failed, I think, to impart the vitality and wide range of applications of statistics. Hence teachers, for whom the subject matter may be new, must be educated in the correct way or we may be doomed to repeat our less than admirable past.

  • I believe that school teachers will benefit from being exposed to QL materials as a part of their undergraduate education. It seems likely that statistical concepts will be included at a local level if a teacher has been exposed to usable materials. The course we have developed is far from perfect. It is too early to tell what the impact will be in the schools where these mathematics teachers will work in the future. I believe that the concept of presenting these QL materials as a part of the undergraduate education is sound. I would encourage others to try to employ such a strategy and to share with others their successes and failures so that we can all improve our curriculum.

  • It is evident that over the past ten years, there has been substantial change to probability and statistics curricula in schools in many countries. It is also clear that there will be continuing development in the 1990s if for no other reason than the continuing impact of technological change. This paper discusses the evolving situation in Victoria (Australia) related to the incoming VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) with the particular focus being the need for a review of statistics and methodology courses appropriate for intending secondary teachers. In particular, the state of play in teacher education at the Institute of Education as it relates to the areas of probability and statistics described. In addition, some comments regarding teacher in-service are made.

  • Major changes to the mathematics courses in Victoria have meant that the amount of probability and statistics being taught in schools will undergo a large and dramatic increase over the next few years. Somewhere around 20-50% of mathematics at Year 11 and 12 (the first two years of secondary school) will now be probability and statistics. Not many teachers currently practicing in schools have the expertise to tackle much of the subject matter with confidence and enthusiasm. The result is that there is a need for professional development of teachers, which is both extensive and urgent. The Statistical Education Unit at the University of Melbourne has endeavoured to meet this need through various strategies, from half-day workshops to more formal courses running three hours weekly over thirteen weeks. These have met with varying success. Our conclusions and recommendations based on these experiences were presented.

  • In the United States, the topic of deficiency in quantitative literacy among high school graduates has been in the limelight for the past several years. Traditionally, students in US schools have not been taught statistics and probability as a regular course. The situation is particularly disappointing for many regions of the southeastern states which, in some respect, are similar to some of the developing nations around the world. We believe a long-term solution lies in nothing less than modification of requirements for mathematics teacher certification that include minimally the statistics objectives delineated by the NCTM Standards.

  • Plans for modernising society include the modernisation of statistics. In 1983 six objectives were set out: (1) the completion of statistical indicators; (2) the standardisation of the classification of statistics; (3) the scientification of statistical investigation; (4) the normalisation of the fundamental of statistics; (5) the modernisation of the technique of statistical data processing; (6) demand for high-quality statistical service. This report is mainly concerned with the present period. Most of the materials are cited from the journals Statistics in China, Statistics Research and Statistics and Forecasting for the year 1989.

  • It is certainly true for some developing nations the immediate task is to put in place an independent and efficient system of national economic and social statistics and to train professionals, planners, and managers to operate this system and use its products. Statistics for all, with its emphasis on the wider public, may appear to be a luxury for the developed world. If a greatly increased numerical competence on the part of ordinary citizens seems utopian, consider that even in Western Europe programmes to achieve near-universal literacy were established only in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Developed nations may soon be giving numeracy the same emphasis that they placed a century ago on literacy. Developing societies may wish to telescope the process by simultaneously emphasising literacy and numeracy . Statistics for all may move from the reveries of ICOTS to national policy.

  • Statistics is the collection, arrangement and interpretation of numerical facts or data. Here we have the ideal vehicle for this transformation, the means by which we can demonstrate the relevance of numeracy skills instead of just calling for them. Note here that I am not talking about theoretical statistics, but about the sensible use of numbers, the use of display techniques such as graphs and charts, and the extraction of information from numbers. These ideas can and should be applied in all subject areas.

  • A controversy has arisen concerning the relative merits of conceptually-oriented teaching versus calculation-centered teaching. Marks (1989) maintains that concepts are far more important than computations, and that they can be successfully taught without the related computations. In contrast, Khamis (1989) claims that students cannot truly understand statistical information until they have had experience doing calculations by hand. Both authors present persuasive arguments, but no empirical evidence to support their conclusions. The present paper outlines a study which aimed to fill this gap. First, however, we try to place the controversy into the context of wider cognitive issues.

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