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Vanderbilt University

Faculty Members Involved in the Research Group

Paul Cobb
Kay McClain
Koeno Gravemeijer (Freudenthal Institute, The Netherlands)

Description of Research

During the first four years of their research project, the group conducted a series of classroom design experiments in the course of which they developed two instructional sequences and three associated computer minitools that focused on statistical data analysis. These sequences involve the analysis of both univariate and bivariate data and focus on the overarching mathematical idea of distribution.

Website

Computer mini-tools for exploratory data analysis
peabody.vanderbilt.edu/depts/tandl/mted/Proj6_CMT/6MiniTools.html

Selected Publications

• McClain, K., Cobb, P., & Gravemeijer, K. (2005). Statistical data analysis: A tool for learning. In T.A. Romberg, T.P. Carpenter, & F. Dremock (Eds.), Understanding mathematics and science matters (pp. 127-158). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Cobb, P., McClain, K., & Gravemeijer, K. (2003). Learning about statistical covariation. Cognition and Instruction, 21, 1-78.
• McGatha, M., Cobb, P., & McClain, K. (2002). An analysis of students' initial statistical understandings: Developing a conjectured learning trajectory. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 16, 339-355.
• Cobb, P. & McClain, K. (2002). Supporting students' learning of significant mathematical ideas. In G. Wells & G. Claxton (Eds.), Learning for life in the twenty-first century: Sociocultural perspectives on the future of education (pp.154-166). New York: Cambridge University.
• Cobb, P. (2002). Reasoning with tools and inscription. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 11, 187-216.
• McClain, K., & Cobb, P. (2001). Supporting students' ability to reason about data. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 45 (1-3), 103-129.
• Cobb, P. (1999). Individual and collective mathematical learning: The case of statistical data analysis. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 1(1), 5-43.