Statisitics – Teaching & Learning Research Initiative

Using home languages as a resource to enhance statistical thinking in a multicultural classroom

Introduction Aotearoa New Zealand is a super diverse nation in terms of the ethnicities of its people and languages spoken. With an increased rate of immigration (New Zealand Immigration, 2018) from various parts of the world, the presence of multiple languages in many domains of social life is a reality. Individuals may identify with several nationalities or racial groups and may speak combinations or mixtures of several languages (Dockrell et al., 2022; Education Review Office, 2018). Consequently, classrooms are now places where learners have different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, where they may speak one language at home and another at school, where teachers and students may not share a common language

“Bootstrapping” students’ understanding of statistical inference

Introduction This report summarises the research activities and findings from the TLRI-funded project conducted in Year 13, introductory university and workplace classes, entitled “‘Bootstrapping’ Statistical Inferential Reasoning”. The project was a 2-year collaboration among three statisticians, two researchers, 16 Year 13 teachers, seven university lecturers, one workplace practitioner, three teacher professional development facilitators, and one quality assurance advisor. The project team designed innovative computer-based approaches to develop students’ inferential reasoning and sought evidence that these innovations were effective in developing students’ understanding of statistical inference. Key findings The bootstrapping and randomisation methods using dynamic visualisations especially designed to enhance conceptual understanding have the potential to transform the learning of statistical inference.

Statistics is boring … because it makes you think!

Introduction In this collaborative research study, teaching experiments were carried out in Year 9 classes of predominantly Pasifika students. There were three phases. During the planning phase the research team planned activities and envisioned how dialogue and statistical activity would unfold as a result of the classroom activities. Data were collected during the teaching phase, and then the data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. The findings have implications for the teaching of statistical literacy. Key findings All students can develop critical thinking skills when teachers show them how to question statistical reports and conclusions. Students can be taught how to question and challenge data in respectful ways. Context and