ERIC Number: ED623785
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Exploring the Potential for Student Development of the Big Ideas of Statistics with Random Trials: The Case of the Mystery Spinner
Watson, Jane; Fitzallen, Noleine
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) (44th, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, Jul 3-7, 2022)
This paper reports on the potential for engaging students in an activity that considers the interconnectedness of the five Big Ideas of Statistics in the context of conducting random trials. In the study, two classes of Year 6 students (aged 11-12 years) used "TinkerPlots" to determine the sample space of a "Mystery Spinner." Analysed for this paper were data collected from entries made in completed workbooks while engaged in the learning activity and responses to relevant questions in an end-of-year questionnaire from 27 students. The results indicated using an activity that included a probability model contributed to students working mathematically with percentages and frequencies and supported the development of intuitions about randomness and informal inference. This was promoted by students analysing the variation in the distribution of data and describing their expectations about an unknown sample space.
Descriptors: Statistics, Grade 6, Elementary School Students, Learning Activities, Student Attitudes, Mathematics Instruction
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia. GPO Box 2747, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia. Tel: +61-8-8363-0288; Fax: +61-8-8362-9288; e-mail: sales@merga.net.au; Web site: http://www.merga.net.au/
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 6; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A