Helping Students Develop Statistical Reasoning:

Implementing a Statistical Reasoning Learning Environment (SRLE)

Dani Ben-Zvidbenzvi@univ.haifa.ac.il

The University of Haifa, Israel

Encontro Interamericano de Educação Estatística

The Challenge of Learning and Teaching Statistics

• Current research studies suggest very different ways of teaching than traditional lectures (Garfield and Ben-Zvi, 2007)

• Leaving familiar teaching methods to try active learning techniques is challenging

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Statistical Reasoning Learning Environment SRLE

• A model for an interactive, introductory statistics course that is designed to develop students’ statistical reasoning

• This model is built on the socio-constructivist theory of learning

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Building on socio-constructivist principles of learning

• New knowledge and understandings are based on the existing knowledge and beliefs we already have and are grounded in our experiences (e.g., Cobb, 1994; Piaget, 1978)

• People learn by constructing knowledge (rather than by receiving knowledge) while interacting with adults or peers (Vygotsky, 1978)

• We learn by doing

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Implication of current theories of learning

• Good instructional practice consists of designing student-centered learning environments that stimulate students to construct knowledge and understanding

• Activities that provide students many opportunities to think, reason, and reflect on their learning, as well as discussing and reflecting with their peers

• The teacher is cast as an instructional coach, a co-learner, an enculturator, or a facilitator, rather than as a conduit of knowledge in a teacher-centered classroom

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Why change?

• A student-centered approach is more effective in helping students build a deep understanding of statistics and to be able to transfer what they have learned in subsequent classes or in the real world

• Students in the “teaching is telling” approach rarely have a chance to develop a deep understanding of what they have “learned,” and quickly forget it after they complete a course

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Principles of a Statistical Reasoning Learning Environment (SRLE)

1. Focus on central statistical ideas2. Use real and motivating data sets3. Design classroom activities to support

development of students’ reasoning4. Use of appropriate technological tools5. Promote classroom discourse6. Use alternative methods of assessment(Cobb and McClain, 2004)

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1. Focus on central statistical ideas

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2. Use Real and Motivating Data• Data should be the focus for statistical learning (Franklin

and Garfield, 2006)• Throughout a course, students need to consider methods

of data collection and production and how these methods affect the quality of the data and the types of analyses that are appropriate

• Interesting data sets motivate students to engage in activities, especially ones that ask them to make conjectures and think about a data set before analyzing it

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3. Classroom activities

• Use of carefully designed, research-based activities that promote student learning through collaboration, interaction, discussion, data, and interesting problems (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000)

• Activities that promote active learning

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Types of classroom activities

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The data investigation cycle (PCAIC)

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4. Appropriate technological tools

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5. Promote classroom discourse

Engage students in sustained exchanges that focus on significant statistical ideas: •Learn to question each other•Explain their reasoning and justifytheir answers and arguments•Express their views, even if they are tentative.Create a safe classroom climate.

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What do you

think and why?

What would happen if?

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6. Alternative assessmentTeachers:• Become knowledgeable about alternative methods of

assessment• Learn about student projects as a form of authentic

assessmentTypes of assessments:• Statistical literacy (e.g., critique a graph in a newspaper)• Statistical reasoning (e.g., write a meaningful short essay)• Feedback to each other or the instructor

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ARTIST Website

https://app.gen.umn.edu/artistARTIST Website

https://app.gen.umn.edu/artist

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Aspect of the Course

“Traditional” Statistics Class

SRLE Class

Focus of course Skills and procedures, covering content

Big ideas, developing statistical reasoning and thinking

Role of textbook Use for examples or

homework problems and

to review for test

Read and take notes to prepare for

class

Center Teacher centered Student centered

Role of the

teacher

Delivers knowledge by

telling and explaining

Facilitates developing of knowledge

through discussion and activities

Role of

technology

To compute or check

answers, construct graphs

To explore data, illustrate concepts,

generate simulations, test

conjectures, and collaborate

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Aspect of the Course

“Traditional” Statistics Class

SRLE Class

Discourse Teacher answers

questions

Teacher poses questions and guides a

discussion. Students present arguments,

answer other students’ questions, and are

asked if they agree or disagree with answers.

Data Small data sets to

illustrate and practice

procedures.

Rich, real data sets to engage students in

thinking and reasoning and making conjectures.

Data sets are generated by the students.

Assessment Focuses on

computations,

definitions and

formulas; on short

answers and multiple

choice tests. Tests.

Uses a variety of methods, assesses reasoning

and thinking. Formal and informal assessment

is an integral part of learning and is aligned

with learning methods and goals. Students

may be asked to explain their reasoning and

justify their conclusions.1/7/2011 17

Moving to a SRLEMoving to SRLE approach is faced with many challenges: students, colleagues, and institution, instructors. (Garfield and Ben-Zvi, 2008)Some teachers:•View statistics as mathematics•Teach statistics in terms of computations and formulas•lack experience in analyzing and exploring real and messy data •Believe there is a single correct answers to most statistics problems•Are not comfortable with open-ended discussions•Are not comfortable with the inquiry-based pedagogical methods •Do not understand the important big ideas of statistics and data analysis.

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Moving to a SRLE

• The first step: Align current course and materials with the components of a SRLE and pick a starting point

• Sample activities in the AIMS Website (http://www.tc.umn.edu/~aims)

• Careful and steady change over a period of time may lead to a successful implementation of a SRLE in a statistics course, rather than trying a radical, all at once change

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Summary: Key elements

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SRLE

Additional Reading

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Read more about theses ides:

• Garfield J., & Ben-Zvi, D. (2009). Helping students develop statistical reasoning: Implementing a Statistical Reasoning Learning Environment. Teaching Statistics, 31(3), 72-77.

• Ben-Zvi, D., & Garfield, J. (Editors) (2004). The challenge of developing statistical literacy, reasoning, and thinking. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

• Garfield, J., & Ben-Zvi, D. (2007). How students learn statistics revisited: A current review of research on teaching and learning statistics. International Statistical Review, 75(3), 372–396.

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Obrigado!

For further questions: Dani Ben-Zvi

dbenzvi@univ.haifa.ac.il

The University of Haifa, Israel

The Connections learning environment

Hands-on small-groups activities

Final project presentation

Presentation preparation

Minds-on: whole-class discussions

Investigationsusing Excel

Scaffolding instructional activities

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