This is a session of Topic 6: Research in Statistics education Full topic list
(Wednesday 5th, 11:00-12:30)
Research on statistical reasoning and thinking
Organiser
Abstract
Statistical reasoning has been a topic of research studies for several decades. Research by Piaget and others on the probabilistic reasoning of children, and research conducted within the Heuristics and Biases tradition associated with Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky are examples of research programs that have contributed significantly to our understanding of human reasoning about stochastic events. These studies have identified common misconceptions and errors in reasoning that need to be addressed by instruction. However, such psychological studies are typically conducted outside of classroom settings, and the results cannot always be applied directly to instructional practice.
The past two decades have seen an increase in research on statistical reasoning and thinking conducted by mathematics and statistics education researchers. During that same time, a reform movement in statistics education has moved away from an emphasis on teaching specific topics and procedures to an emphasis on promoting core, conceptual “big ideas” that permeate the discipline. This session will present classroom based research into didactic practices that promote the development of statistical reasoning and thinking among students. The studies will focus on the effectiveness of instructional approaches designed to promote the development of major conceptual ideas (e.g., distribution, variability, inference) within classroom settings, or settings that can be directly translated into classroom practice, providing the audience with examples and ideas that can be incorporated into their own instructional practice.
Papers
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