TEACHING STATISTICS: CREATING AN INTERSECTION FOR INTRA AND INTERDISCIPLINARITY

Abstract

Statistics is taught in mathematics courses in all school levels. We suggest that using rich tasks in statistics can develop statistical reasoning and create both intra and interdisciplinary links in students. In this paper, we present three case studies where middle school mathematics teachers used different tasks in lessons on pie charts. We analyzed the actions implemented/performed/attempted by teachers to support the development of statistical reasoning and the creation of intra and interdisciplinary links in their lessons. Results show that their procedural vision of statistics led them to focus more on graphical representation, neglecting aspects of statistical reasoning. Results also reveal an interdisciplinary intersection between mathematics and statistics, which may prevent the development of statistical reasoning.

First published November 2016 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives