When data and chance collide: Drawing inferences from empirical data


Book: 
Thinking and Reasoning with Data and Chance: 2006 NCTM Yearbook
Authors: 
Tarr, J. E., Lee, H. S., & Rider, R. L.
Editors: 
Burrill, G.
Type: 
Category: 
Pages: 
139-150
Year: 
2006
Publisher: 
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Abstract: 

The purpose of this chapter is to share the insights we gained from implementing a task with sixth-grade students as they learned to draw inferences from empirical data. To accomplish this goal we begin by describing the key features of the task that elicit and extend students' reasoning. Next we provide several contrasting examples that exemplify the notion of "compelling evidence" among middle grades students, and then offer provisions for individual differences. Finally we argue that carefullydesigned instructional tasks can engage students of all different ages in statistical inference and promote the development of powerful connections between data and chance.

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