Finding a Happy Median: Another Balance Representation for Measures of Center


Authors: 
Lawrence M. Lesser, Amy E. Wagler, and Prosper Abormegah
Year: 
2014
URL: 
http://ww2.amstat.org/publications/jse/v22n3/lesser.pdf
Abstract: 

This paper explores the use of a lesser-known dynamic model for the median, a foundational
topic that starts in the middle school curriculum and is associated with student misconceptions
and knowledge gaps. This model appears to offer a rich vehicle to explore the median
interactively in greater conceptual depth that includes some of its more subtle associated ideas.
An exploratory study to assess performance of this model in a class for pre-service middle school
teachers yielded evidence that students who completed the dataset sequence associated with the
model gained further insight about the median, especially concerning how the mean and median
are affected differently by outliers. Analyses of open ended questions as well as empirical results
of multiple-choice questions are used to assess the overall learning outcomes gained by students.
A one-minute video is offered to illustrate key points of the model.

The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education

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