TSG 11 - Research and development in the teaching and learning of probability and statistics
Team Chairs
Li, Jun, Department of Mathematics, East China Normal University
Address: Shanghai 200062, China
cn_sg@yahoo.com lijun@math.ecnu.edu.cn
Joseph M. Wisenbaker, Educational Psychology, University of Georgia
Address: 0320 Aderhold Hall, Athens, GA 30602-7153, USA
joe@coe.uga.edu
Team Members:
Dani Ben-Zvi, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Israel
dbenzvi@univ.haifa.ac.il
Manfred Borovcnik, Mathematics, Economics and Informatics, University of Klagenfurt, Austria
manfred.borovcnik@uni-klu.ac.at
Maxine Pfannkuch, Mathematics Education Unit, Department of Mathematics, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
pfannkuc@math.auckland.ac.nz
Statistics and statistics education are relatively new disciplines. Statistics has only recently been introduced into the main stream school curricula in many countries. At the university level, there has been a steady increase in the numbers of statistics courses taught to fulfill the growing demand for students and professionals who can use and understand statistical information. Although the amount of statistics instruction at all levels is growing quickly, the research to support statistics instruction is advancing more slowly. The research literature in statistics education is not well known and, hence, not often used. In fact, the field still needs to define what research in statistics education is—not only to achieve academic recognition, but also to convince others of its usefulness. This session will address some of these issues by concentrating on research and developments in the teaching and learning of probability and statistics.
Teachers at all levels find that teaching statistics and probability is immensely challenging. Not only are there new developments in and approaches to the subject matter, but there are constantly opportunities afforded by access to new instructional materials and methods and more advanced educational technology. At the same time, the difficulties that students have in learning statistics and probability pose major difficulties to teachers. While developments in statistical software and hand calculators have eliminated much of the computational burdens associated with applying statistics and probability, the difficulties posed by the basic worldview inherent in those subjects are just as challenging as ever.
Mindful of these multiple contexts and challenges, we encourage presentations at ICME10 that will help us grow as professionals involved in this educational effort, that will represent the diversity of the work being done across the globe with students of all ages and contexts, and that advance our knowledge of the possibilities and challenges facing us as educators.
We would particularly like to encourage submissions related to:
- The use of technology to enhance student learning,
- Efforts to understand how students learn about statistics and probability,
- Developing teachers' statistical knowledge,
- Distance education,
- Assessment strategies as a means of promoting learning,
- Efforts to introduce younger students to statistics and probability,
- Developing statistical reasoning, thinking and literacy.
How to contribute to the scientific program of TSG11 - Research and development in the teaching and learning of probability and statistics at ICME-10.
Submissions and proposals
Individuals may submit a paper for consideration by the Organizing Team to be accepted for oral presentation in the TSG or as a paper presented by distribution within the group. If you do not specify presentation by distribution, we will assume that you wish your paper to be considered for oral presentation. Because only a limited number of papers can be presented orally, you may be asked to accept presentation by distribution. We anticipate that there will be from 12 to 16 15-minutes talks and 1 to 3 30-minutes-talks
Preliminary time schedule:
Short outline/proposal (other than late submissions - see below) 30 November 2003
Presentation decisions .......................................................... 20 January 2004
Paper Submitted .................................................................. 1 March 2004
Papers reviewed by the organizing team ................................. 1 April 2004
Final paper submitted and posted on the TSG website ............... 1 May 2004
Note: Late submissions will be considered, but only for presentation by distribution. Any proposals to be considered for this must be submitted no later than February 1.
Format of proposals and papers:
Paper Size: A4
Margins:
Left: 22 mm.
Right: 22 mm.
Top: 22 mm.
Bottom: 22 mm.
length of proposal: 2 pages plus references
length of final paper: 4-6 pages plus references
Typing should be done with single spacing on one column. For consistency among the final papers, please use "Times New Roman" typeface, size 12; do not indent when starting a new paragraph; leave one line between paragraphs. Your documents should be in MS-Word or Adobe pdf format.
The presentations to be made for TSG11 at the meeting in Copenhagen have been organized into the four sessions allocated to us. The first session is entitled ‘Exemplary Work in Statistics Education’. It will begin with opening remarks by our co-chairs, Joe Wisenbaker and Jun Li, feature an invited address by Jane Watson, and presentations by Iddo Gal and Dani Ben-Zvi, and Susan Starkings.
Our second session is entitled ‘Research on Reasoning about Variation and the Use of Technology in Statistics Education’. It will feature an invited address by Mike Shaughnessy, presentations by Robert delMas and Yan Liu, Dor Abrahamson and Uri Wilensky, and a discussion by Maxine Pfannkuch and Dani Ben-Zvi.
The third session is entitled ‘Issues in Teaching Statistics from Multiple Perspectives’. It will feature an invited address by Joan Garfield, presentations by Robert Gould and Roxy Peck, Alejandra Sorto and Alexander White, and a discussion by Manfred Borovcnik.
The last session is entitled ‘Exploring Issues of Reasoning about Distribution, Data and Graphs’. It will begin with an invited address by Koeno Gravemeijer, presentations by Yingkang Wu, Helen Chick, Carlos Monteiro and Janet Ainley, Maxine Pfannkuch, Stephanie Budgett, Ross Parsonage and Julia Horring, and closing remarks by Joe Wisenbaker and Jun Li.
There are several excellent papers chosen for presentation by distribution contributed by José Carmona, Christine Duller, Sibel Kazak and Jere Confrey, W. M. Luh, J. H. Guo, and J. M. Wisenbaker, Mike Perry and Gary Kader, Milo Schield, and Ödön Vancsó. Nearly all of these have been posted to the conference web-site and may be accessed below.
Please take the opportunity to read and think about the fine work we have selected for our TSG. There should be ample opportunity for everyone attending the conference to interact with these remarkable workers in our area. The availability of so much of their written contributions should enhance the value of the special time we will have together in Copenhagen.
Papers
and Discussion Documents
Session 1: Exemplary Work in Statistics Education
Tasmanian Research in Chance and Data: Background Paper for Invited Address
Jane Watson, University of Tasmania, Australia
Web-based Educational Products from Official Statistics Agencies: A Pilot Survey
Iddo Gal, Department of Human Services, University of Haifa, Israel
Dani Ben-Zvi, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Israel
Collaboration by the RSS and the National Academy for Gifted And Talented Youth to Encourage Students to Study Statistics
Susan Starkings, London South Bank University, UK
Session 2: Research on Reasoning About Variation and the Use of Technology in Statistics Education
Investigating Middle and Secondary Students' Thinking in Variation-Rich Contexts: Background Paper for Invited Address
Mike Shaughnessy, Portland State University, USA
Students’ Understanding of Factors that Affect the Standard Deviation
Robert C. delMas, University of Minnesota,USA
Yan Liu, Vanderbilt University, USA
SAMPLER: Collaborative Interactive Computer-Based Statistics Learning Environment
Dor Abrahamson and Uri Wilensky
The Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern University, USA
Session 3: Issues in Teaching Statistics from Multiple Perspectives
Exploring the Impact of Lesson Study on Expert and Novice Statistics Teachers: Summary of Invited Address
Joan Garfield, University of Minnesota, USA
Preparing Teachers to Teach Statistics
Robert Gould, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Roxy Peck, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, USA
Statistical Knowledge for Teaching
Alejandra Sorto, Michigan State University and Montgomery College, USA
Alexander White, American University, USA
Session 4: Exploring Issues of Reasoning about Distrobution, Data and Graphs
Developing the Notion of Distribution as an Entity: Background Paper for Invited Address
Koeno Gravemeijer, The University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
Singapore Secondary School Students’ Understanding of Statistical Graphs
Wu, Yingkang
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Representing Association: Children Manipulating Data Sets
Helen L. Chick, University of Melbourne, Australia
Interpretation of Media Graphs and Critical Sense:Implications for Teaching and Teachers
Carlos Monteiro, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil
Janet Ainley, The University of Warwick, UK
Comparison of Data Plots: Building a Pedagogical Framework
Maxine Pfannkuch, Stephanie Budgett and Ross Parsonage, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Julia Horring, Auckland Girls’ Grammar School, New Zealand
Papers Accepted for Presentation by Distribution
Mathematical Background and Attitudes Toward Statistics in a Sample of Undergraduate Students
José Carmona, Universidad de Huelva, Spain
Head for Figures and Mathematical Comprehension
Christine Duller, University of Linz, Austria
Investigating Educational Practitioners’ Statistical Reasoning in Analysis of Student Outcome Data
Sibel Kazak and Jere Confrey
Washington University in St. Louis, USA
Difference of Attitudes Toward Statistics between Cadets and College Students
W. M. Luh, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
J. H. Guo, Air Force Academy, Taiwan
J. M. Wisenbaker, University of Georgia, USA
Statistics for Middle School Teachers
Mike Perry and Gary Kader
Appalachian State University, USA
Three Graphs to Promote Statistical Literacy
Milo Schield, Augsburg College, USA
Inverse Probabilities in Everyday Situation (Bayesian-type Problems)
Ödön Vancsó, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary