STATISTICAL EDUCATION: FOCUSING ON THE LEARNER

Abstract

For over thirty years, statistical education has fought for a “pedagogy of proximity.” But if this seems to bring greater success, it does not guarantee the understanding of statistical concepts. An analysis of an experiment by Gattuso & Mary (2003, 2005), and an observational study made by the author, highlight the phenomenon of “cognitive isolation.” This underlines the importance of the learners’ views of statistics. The work of Reid and Petocz (2002) corroborates this and provides more insight into the necessity of an exogenous disturbance to learning so that it is fully realized. Methodologically, it emerges that qualitative methods have their full place in statistical education research, including as an opportunity to reassess the research objectives.

First published November 2010 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives