Constructionism and Reductionism: Two Approaches to Problem-Solving and Their Implications for Reform of Statistics and Mathematics Curricula


Authors: 
Lazaridis, E. N.
Category: 
Volume: 
7(2)
Pages: 
Online
Year: 
1999
Publisher: 
Journal of Statistics Education
URL: 
http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/secure/v7n2/lazaridis.cfm
Abstract: 

The First International Conference on the Teaching of Mathematics was held in Samos, Greece, in July 1998. Presentations by the attendees reflected a recent debate on reforms of the mathematics curriculum and related pedagogy. Chief among these was a greater emphasis on connecting the mathematics curriculum with applications, to make courses in mathematics more "relevant" to students. This manuscript notes that mathematicians tend to teach students to approach data analysis in a constructive manner, proceeding from an understanding of the basic science, while statisticians concentrate on reductive approaches, whereby models are generated upon consideration of the data themselves. It is suggested that departments of mathematics and statistics will need to adopt a new spirit of cooperation, and partner with colleagues in application areas, if curricular enhancements in either domain are to have a reasonable chance at success.

The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education