INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS: PREPARING IN-SERVICE MIDDLE-LEVEL MATHEMATICS TEACHERS FOR CLASSROOM RESEARCH

Authors

  • JENNIFER L. GREEN Montana State University
  • WENDY M. SMITH University of Nebraska - Lincoln
  • APRIL T. KERBY Winona State University
  • ERIN E. BLANKENSHIP University of Nebraska - Lincoln
  • KENDRA K. SCHMID University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • MARY ALICE CARLSON Montana State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52041/serj.v17i2.167

Keywords:

Statistics education research, Data-driven decision making, Teacher development, Statistical thinking

Abstract

In this study, we examined how in-service middle-level mathematics teachers used statistics in their own classroom research. Using an embedded single-case design, we analyzed a purposefully selected sample of nine teachers’ classroom research papers, identifying several themes within each phase of the statistical problem solving process to summarize how teachers 1) planned studies and collected data, 2) analyzed data, and 3) interpreted results. The results illustrate the varying ways in which teachers used statistics to make data-based decisions about their classrooms, revealing teachers’ early development in their statistical thinking and suggesting that teachers’ required knowledge of statistics is multi-faceted, requiring both a pedagogical component and statistical knowledge for the teaching profession. Such findings have important implications for how we, as teacher educators, can best meet teachers’ professional needs.

First published November 2018 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

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Published

2018-11-30

Issue

Section

Regular Articles