Toward understanding the role of technological tools in statistical learning

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.Throughthisexample,Iendeavortoillustratehowanattemptatseriousintegrationofcomputersinteachingandlearningstatisticsbringsaboutacascadeofchanges incurriculummaterials,classroompraxis,andstudents’waysoflearning.Atheoretical 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 implicationsandrecommendationsfortheuseofcomputersinthestatisticaleducational milieu are suggested.