This is a session of Topic 6: Innovations in teaching probability
Session 6E (Friday 13th, 14:00-15:30, Level 2 - AV Study Room)
Concepts in teaching probability: learning obstacles and proposals for how to overcome them
Organizer
- Markus Vogel (Germany) : Session chair
Abstract
Probability is a key concept of stochastics and thus, teaching probability is at the core of stochastics education. However, probability is well known as being a difficult mathematical concept. Within a theoretical point there are different approaches to the construct of probability which differ fundamentally concerning their underlying theoretical assumptions. Within a teaching related practical point of view, it is a challenge to connect these approaches, to apply the probability concept in mathematical or empirical problem situations and to handle counterintuitive results which often occur and which lead to learning obstacles. To overcome these difficulties teachers must know about essential characteristics of probability as well as about potential learning obstacles of the students for being able to plan and induce learning activities which aim at the students’ development of what Fischbein calls secondary intuitions of probability. This session focuses on the question of what such implementation of learning activities could look like by especially taking possibilities of multimedia support into account which allows for conducting stochastic animations, simulations or experiments.