Teaching statistics = teaching thinking statistically


Authors: 
Marcin Kozak
Volume: 
4(4)
Pages: 
Online
Year: 
2009
Publisher: 
Model Assisted Statistics and Applications
URL: 
http://iospress.metapress.com/content/0563pt3x858j7085/?p=c39a807d7cdf4ef694d8c88d1d600694&pi=5
Abstract: 

What is "objective statistics"? How can a statistics teacher teach it? Is it possible at all? These topics are discussed in this essay. It is shown that statistics is subjective; this is pictured with an example of a relationship between two quantitative continuous variables, for which various statistical approaches can be applied. This subjectivity should not nevertheless be thought of as a bad thing - it is the intrinsic part that makes statistics an art of dealing with data. To teach statistics well, then, means to teach thinking statistically, to teach understanding statistics, and not only to teach applying statistics.

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