Developing students' conceptions of variation: An untapped well in statistical reasoning

The conjecture driving this study is that if statistics curricula were to put<br>more emphasis on helping students improve their intuitions about variation and its<br>relevance to statistics, we would be able to witness improved comprehension of<br>statistical concepts (Ballman, 1997). Both the research literature and previously<br>conducted research by the author indicate that variation is often neglected, and its<br>critical role in statistical reasoning is under-recognized.<br>A nontraditional approach to statistics instruction that has variation as its<br>central tenet, and perceives learning as a dynamic process subject to development<br>for a long period of time and through a variety of contexts and tools, is laid out in<br>this thesis. The experiences and insights gained from adopting such an approach<br>in a college level, introductory statistics classroom are reported.