This paper is from Session 8G: Theoretical frameworks in statistics education research

which comes under Topic 8: Research in statistics education

Describing distributions

Presenter

• Pip Arnold (Cognition Education Limited, New Zealand)

Co-author

• Maxine Pfannkuch (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

Abstract

Describing distributions require students to simultaneously consider many aspects of five overarching statistical concepts — contextual knowledge, distributional, signal and noise, variability and graph comprehension — making describing distributions challenging. In this paper two students descriptions of distributions are compared and contrasted through the lens of the distribution framework (Arnold & Pfannkuch, 2012) as an initial insight into the different features of distribution that are emphasised in teaching and learning within a year 10 class (ages 14-15).