Technology, Statistical Thinking And Engineering Students


Book: 
Proceedings of the sixth international conference on teaching statistics, Developing a statistically literate society
Authors: 
Macgillivray, H. L.
Editors: 
Phillips, B.
Category: 
Pages: 
Online
Year: 
2002
Publisher: 
International Statistical Institute
URL: 
http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/publications/1/7c2_macg.pdf
Abstract: 

The importance of the statistical sciences in modern engineering is apparent but not necessarily its many roles. Although the second of the US Engineering Criteria 2000, "an ability to design and conduct experiments as well as to analyse and interpret data" has been quoted as stating that statistics has a dotpoint "on its own", (Phillips, 1998) the wording tends to underestimate the diversity and extent of statistics in engineering. The roles of technology in statistics education are also diverse, and must be considered within the student and course context. This paper considers engineering statistics education and where and how statistical technology can facilitate students' conceptual structure, statistical thinking and confidence. There is no magic wand, but technology facilitates and integrates with good teaching and learning strategies based on teachers' statistical understanding and their understanding of the needs of their students.

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