PROCEEDINGS OF THE 16TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2013
Denver, Colorado
Student Difficulties Setting up Statistics Simulations in TinkerplotsTM
Page: 2-522
The past 20 years has produced a growing body of research on instructional technologies in mathematics classrooms, as well as a small, but growing, body of work on the impact of technology in introductory statistics classrooms (e.g., Chance, Ben-Zvi, Garfield, & Medina, 2007; Chance, delMas & Garfield, 2004). However, much of the work touting the benefits of using technology in the statistics classroom has not been empirically based (see Mills, 2002) and Shaughnessy (2007) has argued that there is a lack of research investigating the use of technology in statistics classrooms. Specifically, research is needed that explores how technology changes the way students think about statistics and the ways technology can be used to enable students to construct models to solve statistical problems. There are two fundamental reasons why such research is badly needed: (1) statistical literacy and computer literacy are vital skills in an information age; and (2) new dynamic educational technologies carry much promise for supporting student learning, but without knowledge of how these technologies impact student thinking they fall short of their potential. This proposal focuses on student challenges interpreting a single trial of a statistical experiment.