Literature Index

We present a study of the meanings of average and variation displayed by paediatirc nurses. We trace how these meanings shape, and are shaped by, nurses' interpretations of trends in patient and population data. We suggest a theoretical framework for making sense of the data which compares and contrasts nurses' epistemology with that of official mathematics. Finally, we outline some provisional didactial implications.

The purpose of this article is to sketch a hypothetical descriptive framework of statistical knowledge for teaching. Because statistics is a discipline in its own right rather than a branch of mathematics, the knowledge needed to teach statistics is likely to differ from the knowledge needed to teach mathematics. Doing statistics involves many primarily nonmathematical activities, such as building meaning for data by examining the context and choosing appropriate study designs to answer questions of interest. Although there are differences between mathematics and statistics, the two disciplines do share common ground in that statistics utilizes mathematics. This connection suggests that existing research on mathematical knowledge for teaching can help inform research on statistical knowledge for teaching.

In preparing business majors, schools of business have a special responsibility to ensure that students are equipped with the technological and mathematical skills they will need to compete in the worldwide marketplace. This article describes an innovative instructional paradigm for teaching business statistics. This paradigm harnesses the latest classroom technologies and integrates these technologies with established principles of learning. The paradigm also implements the mathematical and technological recommendations put forward by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Science. Evaluation data from both instructor and student perspectives are reported.

This article begins with some context setting on new views of statistics and statistical education. These views are reflected, in particular, in the introduction of exploratory data analysis (EDA) into the statistics curriculum. Then, a detailed example of EDA learning activity in the middle school is introduced, which makes use of the power of the spreadsheet to mediate students' construction of meanings for statistical conceptions. Through this example, I endeavor to illustrate how an attempt at serious integration of computers in teaching and learning statistics brings about a cascade of changes in curriculum materials, classroom praxis, and students' ways of learning. A theoretical discussion follows that underpins the impact of technological tools on teaching and learning statistics by emphasizing how the computer lends itself to supporting cognitive and sociocultural processes. Subsequently, I present a sample of educational technologies, which represents the sorts of software that have typically been used in statistics instruction: statistical packages (tools), microworlds, tutorials, resources (including Internet resources); and teachers' metatools. Finally, certain implications and recommendations for the use of computers in the statistical educational milieu are suggested.