Approaching the Borderlands of Statistsics and Mathematics in the Classroom: Qualitative Analysis Engendering an Unexpected Journey


Authors: 
Jane M. Watson and Erica L. Nathan
Volume: 
9(2)
Pages: 
online
Year: 
2010
Publisher: 
Statistics Education Research Journal
URL: 
http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/serj/SERJ9(2)_Watson_Nathan.pdf
Abstract: 

To capture aspects of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) not illuminated in an<br><br>earlier written survey, an interview protocol was used with 40 middle school teachers.<br><br>The scenarios were intended to elicit teachers' understanding of the big ideas, ability<br><br>to anticipate students' answers, and intervention strategies for the classroom. This<br><br>was expected to be a straight-forward journey based on teachers' responses to three<br><br>context-based scenarios regarding students' answers to questions. Instead we were<br><br>surprised by teachers' responses that revealed their perceptions that their experiences<br><br>teaching mathematics and teaching statistics are very different. This led to further<br><br>analysis of the PCK tasks and a suggestion that the mathematics embedded in the<br><br>tasks was sometimes an impediment for the teachers, especially in relation to<br><br>intervention strategies in the classroom.

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