Literature Index

Rezension von Hawkins, A.; Jolliffe, F.; Glickman, L.: Teaching statistical concepts. Stochastische Begriffe und Begriffsbildungen unterrichten. 1992.

In what follows I will try to sketch some phenomena of misunderstanding ideas of probability, and give some comments on the interplay between mathematics and intuitions which I think represents the origin of lack of comprehension. A brief overview of the favor concept should enable the impression that by way of teaching this concept probabilistic reasoning could be improved.

This paper deals mainly with the experiences of teaching statistics at the Agricultural Faculty in Novi Sad. Statistics was incorporated into the teaching programmes for students from the establishment of the Agricultural Faculty in 1954. Statistical programmes are oriented to different agricultural courses at the Faculty. Statistical education for agriculturists tries to give them a solid foundation in statistics. An emphasis is placed on mastering a wide use of statistical methods in order to allow the students to apply these techniques in many fields of agricultural science like: field crops production, vegetable crop production, horticulture, fruit growing, grape production, plant protection, livestock, veterinary medicine, agricultural mechanization, water resources, agricultural economics etc. Problems and dilemmas encountered in statistical education will be presented and some ideas on how to improve the teaching of agricultural statistics. It is expected that the statistical knowledge achieved by finished agricultural students will provide a solid foundation for master degree studies in Biometrics. It is necessary to emphasize the important role of teaching statistics to agricultural students for improving their general knowledge and for better use of statistical methods in research work.

"Forty-eight sutdents with no previous exposure to probability or statistics read one of three texts that varied in the emphasis placed on rote and conceptual learning of basic concepts of elementary probability. A qualitative analysis of errors on a postinstruction test employed a model of problem solving whose stages were categorization of the problem, retrieval of the appropriate formula, and translation of values from the problem into the formula. Variations in performance on problems requiring the same formula for solution were largely attributable to surface features that affected the ease of categorization and translation. Students who read a text that emphasized conceptual learning tended to be less sensitive to surface features, which parallels results regarding novices and experts in various content domains."