Which jar gives the better chance? Children's decision making strategies


Book: 
Proceedings of the 20th annual meetings of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia: People in Mathematics Education (MERGA)
Authors: 
Way, J.
Editors: 
Biddulph, F. & Carr, K.
Category: 
Year: 
1997
Publisher: 
University of Waikato Printery
URL: 
See compilation of Research Papers from 1997 ID # 2852 (Garfield & Truran)
Abstract: 

In task-based interviews 48 Kindergarten to Year 6 children were asked to choose between two jars containing different mixes of read and yellow toy bears, with the aim of giving themselves a better chance at drawing out a read bear. The children applied a variety of strategies, ranging from idiosyncratic reasons to proportional reasoning. These strategies are examined in relation to the ratio pairs presented in each jar and are compared to other strategies reported in the literature.

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