Literature Index

There is an important need to prepare preservice teachers for the teaching of statistics. We will describe an experiment set up to achieve effective teacher training in statistics in the setting of an Italian university. Student teachers had to prepare lessons using a real data set collected from the Italian mail services. Not only did they look into all the usual basic concepts of statistics, but they also questioned and dealt with doubts and errors their pupils put forth. They discovered the richness of the concepts, the content of descriptive statistics and the basic analyses of observed data. This experiment showed that the data, although very simple, is rich and productive, and that effective teacher training can be set up even with modest resources when there is determination and motivation.

This report focuses on a research project that combines three aspects of a curriculum concerning teachers' planning, teachers' classroom practice, and their students' statistical knowledge. The theoretical framework and methodology will be sketched. Next, the planning and classroom practice of four statistics teachers will be outlined. Finally, the report documents the knowledge and beliefs concerning statistics of five of each of the teacher's students.

Although literature on challenges to students' learning of data analysis and probability has steadily accumulated over the past few decades, research on challenges encountered in teaching the content area is in its beginning stages. The present study aims to help build this area of research by identifying some knowledge elements necessary for teaching conditional probability and independence. Artifacts of classroom practice, including written plans and lesson video, were used to identify challenges encountered by teachers in establishing productive learning environments for students first learning the concepts. It is proposed that enhanced common and specialized content knowledge may help teachers address the challenges identified. Some salient aspects include knowledge of: distinctions among major concepts, data displays with pedagogical value, and the roles of fractions and combinatorial ideas in the psychology of learning conditional probability and independence. The discussion of these and other relevant knowledge aspects is drawn upon to propose potentially productive directions for teacher education efforts and future research.

One primary goal of TEACH-STAT (a three-year project funded by the National Science Foundation) is to help elementary school teachers in North Carolina learn how to teach data analysis and interpretation more effectively, that is, learn the pedagogy of statistics. In Spring 1992, the first cohort of 55, K-6 teachers completed a baseline survey of their knowledge of statistics pedagogy; these teachers then participated in a three-week workshop in summer 1992. At the outset, teachers seemed to (a) have limited views of what should be taught in order for students to understand data interpretation, (b) emphasize isolated bits of knowledge, mainly about graphing, and (c) have little knowledge of pedagogy for important ideas. At the conclusion of the workshop, teachers' views of statistics seemed to have shifted more toward a holistic view of statistics content, with accompanying increases in knowledge of particular pedagogical strategies to address the components of statistics understanding.