Marianne van Dijke-Droogers, Paul Drijvers, Arthur Bakker
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
In our data-driven society, it is essential for students to become statistically literate. A core domain within Statistical Literacy is Statistical Inference, the ability to draw inferences from sample data. Acquiring and applying inferences is difficult for students and, therefore, usually not included in the pre-10th-grade curriculum. However, recent studies suggest that developing a good understanding of key statistical concepts at an early age facilitates the understanding of Statistical Inference later on. This study evaluates the effects of a Learning Trajectory for Statistical Inference on Dutch 9th-grade students’ Statistical Literacy. Theories on informal Statistical Inference and repeated sampling guided the Learning Trajectory’s design. For the evaluation, we used a pre-post research design with an intervention group (n = 267). The results indicated that students made significant progress on Statistical Literacy and on the ability to make inferences in particular, but also on the other domains of Statistical Literacy. To further interpret the learning gains of this group, we compared students’ results with national baseline achievements from a comparison group (n = 217) who followed the regular 9th-grade curriculum, and with international studies using similar test items. Both comparisons confirmed a significant positive effect on all domains of Statistical Literacy. These findings suggest that current statistics curricula for grades 7–9, usually with a strong descriptive focus, can be enriched with an inferential focus.
期刊介绍:
The Mathematics Education Research Journal seeks to promote high quality research that is of interest to the international community. The Mathematics Education Research Journal seeks to present research that promotes new knowledge, ideas, methodologies and epistemologies in the field of mathematics education. The Mathematics Education Research Journal actively seeks to promote research from the Australasian region either as research conducted in the region; conducted by researchers from the region and/or draws on research from the region. The Mathematics Education Research Journal accepts papers from authors from all regions internationally but authors must draw on the extensive research that has been produced in the Australasian region. The Mathematics Education Research Journal normally does not encourage publication of teacher education programs or courses. These are more suited for theother MERGA journal, Mathematics Teacher Education and Development.