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Elementary School Teachers: Teaching, Understanding and Using Statistics
Anna E. Bargagliotti1 & Derek Webb2
1University
Overview
General Framework
• Data and data-driven decision-making are being set as the goldstandard throughout business, education, and policy
• “I am a deep believer in the power of data to drive our
decisions. Data gives us the road map to reform. It tells us
where we are, where we need to go, and who is most at
risk.” Arnie Duncan, 2009
• “We find that firms that adopt data-driven decision making
have output and productivity that is 5-6% higher than what
would be expected.” Brynjolfsson, Hitt, Kim, 2011
• It is therefore crucial for us as educators to consider how we can
prepare a population that can make sense of data, i.e., a
statistically literate population
• Statistical literacy refers to the ability to think and reason in
the presence of uncertainty
Guiding Questions
How do we ensure students in the elementary
grades gain the skills necessary to become
statistically literate as they mature?
What statistical content should students learn in the
elementary grades?
What should elementary teachers know about
statistics in order to be prepared to teach this
content?
Our Goals: (1) Take inventory of existing documents
addressing our guiding questions, (2) Compare
these documents to see whether there are overall
themes, (3) Shed light on the type of data teachers
encounter as part of their jobs, and (4) Offer
recommendations for future work with elementary
teacher preparation
of Memphis, 2Bemidji State University
On the Job Data
Interweaving factors related to elementary teacher preparation in statistics
Common Core State Standards
Student
Learning
Student Learning
NCTM Standards
GAISE: A Pre-K-12 Curriculum
Framework (2005)
• Provides an overarching outline for
statistics education in K-12
• Defines a statistically literate person to
be one that can formulate questions,
collect data, analyze data, and interpret
results
• Presents a three-level framework
(levels A, B, and C) corresponding to
the depth of coverage within each
component
Principles and Standards for School
Mathematics (2000)
• Organizes K-12 mathematics content
into five content standards
• Dedicates the standard “Data Analysis
and Probability” to statistical content
• Level A and B may be pertinent to
elementary grades
• Decomposes Data Analysis and
Probability strand into four substandards that divided into
expectations for Pre-K-2 and 3-5 gradeband
Policy &
Regulations
On the Job
Requirements
Common Core
The Common Core Standards (2010)
• Unify K-12 education across the US
for math and English Language Arts
• Deemphasizes statistics in the
elementary grades
• Introduces statistics in middle
school and continues through
high school
• Contains the strand “Measurement
and Data” in the elementary grades
under which a few statistical
concepts are described
Comparison
The Approaches of GAISE, NCTM, and
Common Core Differ
• CC covers a small subset of the
concepts outlined by GAISE
• Main difference lies in the
approach
• GAISE focuses on
student’s overall
statistical literacy
• CC focuses on ensuring
that students can perform
specific tasks related to
statistics
• NCTM standards are much broader
and all encompassing than the
other two documents
• E.g., the first standard alone
encompasses most of the
GAISE components
• NCTM not as explicitly
decomposed as GAISE
• NCTM standards set large
broad goals for statistical
learning by listing a general set
of tasks
• NCTM standards allude to
having students explore their
own statistical thinking
process
• Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2001), all states have to produce
an Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) report
• Every state, school system, and school is then in turn issued a Report
Card
• The Report Card lists the subjects and the assessments that are included in
the evaluation of the specific state
• These reports contain an enormous amount of statistical information
• Teachers are expected to use these data to inform their teaching
• Here is a sample report card from the state of TN:
Teacher Preparation Recommendations
• While taking into consideration the GAISE report, the NCTM Standards, the CC,
and the district data reports, elementary teachers are required to navigate
through numerous statistical concepts both in and outside the classroom
• In light of the differences and similarities found among the way these influential
and important documents approach statistics, elementary school teachers must
at the very least
• understand all of the tasks presented throughout the documents
• be aware of the different approaches and be comfortable switching among
the documents
• have a general understanding of the process of thinking statistically
• understand how to use data to inform their teaching
Contact Information
Anna E. Bargagliotti
Dept. of Mathematical Sciences
University of Memphis
[email protected]
Derek Webb
Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science
Bemidji State University
[email protected]