Literature Index

Displaying 491 - 500 of 3326

  • Bridging the gap between students and statistics: Cognition, affect, and the role of teaching method

    Author(s):
    Mickelson, W. T.
    Year:
    1997
    Abstract:
    Traditionally, the introductory statistics course has been one of the most hated and feared courses on campuses across the country. Simon and Bruce (1991) lament, "probability and statistics continues to be the bane of students, most of whom consider the statistics course a painful rite of passage--like fraternity paddling--on the way to an academic degree..." Over the past 30 years, there has been an increase in the professional literature on how to teach statistics with a continuous call for reform of the introductory statistics course. Virtually every American Statistical Association (ASA) president, in the past 10 years, has addressed the topic of statistics education as a key issue affecting the status and image of statistics as a profession. It is rather interesting that, while many have examined the practice of teaching statistics, very little is known about how students learn statistical concepts and reasoning skills. In addition to presenting a review of the literature on what is known about how students learn statistics and an overview of the suggested classroom reforms, this talk begins to examine the extreme gap that clearly exists between the introductory student and the subject matter of the introductory statistics course.

  • Broadening the scope of statistics and statistical education.

    Author(s):
    Mosteller, F.
    Year:
    1988
    Abstract:
    The profession of statistics has adopted too narrow a definition of itself. As a consequence, both statistics and statisticians play too narrow a role in policy formation and execution. Broadening that role will require statisticians to change the curriculum they use to train and develop their own professionals and what they teach nonstatisticians about statistics. Playing a proper role will require new research from statisticians that combines our skills in methods with other techniques of social scientists.

  • Buffon's Coin Problem and Beyond

    Author(s):
    Kady Schneiter
    Year:
    2011
    Abstract:
    This article describes an investigation of Buffon's coin problem and related problems with the aid of an applet. The problems are accessible at a variety of grade levels and facilitate making connections between geometry and probability.
    Location:
    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9639.2010.00433.x/abstract

  • Build your own (BYO) job

    Author(s):
    Nicholls, L.
    Editors:
    Vere-Jones, D., Carlyle, S., & Dawkins, B. P.
    Year:
    1991
    Abstract:
    A brief reflection on the experiences of a New Zealand woman statistician. Comments were made on the value of formal and informal training in the academic environment, the issues and problems faced upon moving to a private sector position (in insurance), and the potentially valuable contribution of statistics and statisticians to the management decision-making process.

  • BUILDING A CONNECTION BETWEEN<br>EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF PROBABILITY

    Author(s):
    Seth Ireland &amp; Jane Watson
    Year:
    2009
    Abstract:
    This paper addresses a question identified by Graham Jones: what are the connections made by<br>students in the middle years of schooling between classical and frequentist orientations to probability? It does<br>so based on two extended lessons with a class of Grade 5/6 students and in-depth interviews with eight<br>students from the class. The Model 1 version of the software TinkerPlots was used in both settings to simulate<br>increasingly large samples of random events. The aim was to document the students' understanding of<br>probability on a continuum from experimental to theoretical, including consideration of the interaction of<br>manipulatives, the simulator, and the law of large numbers. A cognitive developmental model was used to<br>assess students' understanding and recommendations are made for classroom interventions.
    Location:
    http://www.iejme.com/032009/IEJME_p09_Ireland_Watson_E.pdf

  • Building a research agenda for statistics education. A response to reactions in SERN 2(1).

    Author(s):
    Batanero, C., Garfield, J. B., &amp; Ottaviani, M. G.
    Year:
    2001
    Abstract:
    Determining the main research questions in statistics education is not an easy task, because there are so many important and unanswered questions relating to the teaching and learning of statistics. Nevertheless, in SERN 1 (2) we proposed a list of questions that we considered important to investigate, given the current state of research in statistics education as well as our own ideas and research traditions. We reflected on the diversity of people involved in statistics education research, the difficulties of having access to the literature in this area, and the challenges of training statistics education researchers within different disciplines. Our short note was complemented in SERN 2(1) by reactions from a number of colleagues from different countries who represent different backgrounds and experiences. These differences as well as the interdisciplinary nature of statistics education research were visible in the variety of responses and suggestions in the written responses. In this rejoinder, we attempt to synthesise the main points raised by the different reactors to whom we are very grateful, as they provided many important complementary ideas. It would be a too big a task to reply in detail to each of the points raised as some of them deserve a full issue of the Newsletter. We are therefore only offering remarks here regarding a few of the main points raised. We plan to focus on some of the remaining topics in future issues of our Newsletter.
    Location:
    http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/serj/Newsmay01.pdf

  • Building a theory of graphicacy: How do students read graphs?

    Author(s):
    Friel, S. N., &amp; Bright, G. W.
    Year:
    1996
    Abstract:
    This study examined middle grades students' learning of concepts related to the use and interpretation of graphs. We view graphs as part of the process of statistical investigation. A statistical investigation typically involves four components: pose the question, collect the data, analyze the data, and interpret the results, in some order (Graham, 1987). The use of grpahis is linked to the "analyze the data" component of the statistical investigation process. Considering what it means to understand and use graphical representation is a part of what it means to know and be able to do statistics.

  • Building Capacity for Developing Statistical Literacy in a Developing Country: Lessons Learned from an Intervention

    Author(s):
    Delia North, Iddo Gal, and Temesgen Zewotir
    Year:
    2014
    Abstract:
    This paper aims to contribute to the emerging literature on capacity-building in statistics education by examining issues pertaining to the readiness of teachers in a developing country to teach basic statistical topics. The paper reflects on challenges and barriers to building statistics capacity at grassroots level in a developing country, based in part on lessons learnt from the design of an in-service intervention for teachers in South Africa, and on illustrative data about teachers’ attitudes, collected as part of this intervention. The paper reflects on implications for future design of interventions, as well as on research needs that can inform future capacity-building in statistics education in developing countries.
    Location:
    http://iase-web.org/documents/SERJ/SERJ13(2)_North.pdf

  • Building houses on straw polls: A brief look at some current statistical reporting by journalists in New Zealand.

    Author(s):
    Palmer, W., &amp; Crawford, A.
    Editors:
    Rossman, A., &amp; Chance, B.
    Year:
    2006
    Abstract:
    This paper considers how New Zealand journalists report political polls. Two recent newspaper articles are featured. Perhaps not surprisingly we have detected a tendency for journalists to focus on sample size, to misunderstand the concept of margins of error, and to have little idea as to whether a result is generalisable. We also consider the importance of non-respondents. We wonder if journalists question the validity of survey results they have been given. We ask the question: could a "non-random" convenience survey have as much validity as a more formal survey conducted by a specialist research company?
    Location:
    http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/publications/17/5C3_PALM.pdf

  • Building on and Challenging Students' Intuitions about Probability: Can we Improve Undergraduate Learning?

    Author(s):
    Pfannkuch, M., &amp; Brown, C. M.
    Year:
    1994
    Abstract:
    Students in our first year probability and statistics course typically experience problems in learning formal probability. They also often fail to grasp the logic behind confirmatory methods. The premise of this paper is as follows: to enable students to understand and be comfortable with inferential (or even exploratory) statistics, they must be allowed to (1) experience the omnipresence of variation and (2) experience probability as a means to describe and quantify that variation. A pilot study to investigate the understanding of variability and probability of a small group of students enrolled in the 1994 course is described. These students have a strong tendency to think deterministically (especially in real world settings); they have little understanding of variability and its relationship to sample size; and they are generally unable to reconcile their intuitions with the formal probability they are taught. There were some initial indications that allowing students to experience variation personally made aware of their over-emphasis on causal explanations of variability. Lastly, it appears that students' awareness about probabilistic thinking can be raised by actively challenging and discussing their tacit intuitive models about chance.

Pages

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