STATISTICAL STATISTICAL EDUCATION SET OF TEACHERS Christine A. Franklin (Chair) Gary D. Kader University of Georgia Appalachian State University Anna E. Bargagliotti Richard L. Scheaffer Loyola Marymount University University of Florida Catherine A. Case Denise A. Spangler University of Florida University of Georgia 1 | Statistical Education of Teachers Contents Preface ...............................................................................................i Chapter 1: Background and Motivation for SET Report ........................................................1 Chapter 2: Recommendations ................................................5 Chapter 3: Mathematical Practices Through a Statistical Lens ....................................................9 Chapter 4: Preparing Elementary School Teachers to Teach Statistics ............................................... 13 Chapter 5: Preparing Middle-School Teachers to Teach Statistics ............................................... 21 Chapter 6: Preparing High-School Teachers to Teach Statistics .............................................. 29 Chapter 7: Assessment ........................................................... 39 Chapter 8: Overview of Research on the Teaching and Learning of Statistics in Schools .......... 45 Chapter 9: Statistics in the School Curriculum: A Brief History ..................................................... 55 Appendix 1 ................................................................................... 61 Appendix 2 .................................................................................. 77 PREFACE PREFACE The Mathematical Education of Teachers (MET) Chapter 1 describes the motivation for SET in de- (Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences tail, highlighting ways preparing teachers of statistics [CBMS], 2001) made recommendations regarding is different from preparing teachers of mathematics. the mathematics PreK–12 teachers should know and how they should come to know it. In 2012, CBMS Chapter 2 presents six recommendations regard- released MET II to update these recommendations ing what statistics teachers need to know and the in light of changes to the educational climate in shared responsibility for the statistical education of the intervening decade, particularly the release of teachers. This chapter is directed to those in leader- the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics ship positions in school districts, colleges and uni- (CCSSM) (NCACBP and CCSSO, 2010). Because of versities, and government agencies whose policies the emphasis on statistics in the Common Core and affect the statistical education of teachers. many states’ guidelines, MET II includes numer- ous recommendations regarding the preparation of Chapter 3 describes CCSSM as viewed through a teachers to teach statistics. statistical lens. This report, The Statistical Education of Teachers ( ), was commissioned by the American Statisti- Chapters 4, 5, and 6 give recommendations cal Association (ASA) to clarify MET II’s recommen- for the statistical preparation and professional de- dations, emphasizing features of teachers’ statistical velopment of elementary-, middle-, and high-school preparation that are distinct from their mathemati- teachers, respectively. These chapters are intended cal preparation. SET calls for collaboration among as a resource for those engaged in teacher prepara- mathematicians, statisticians, mathematics educa- tion or professional development. tors, and statistics educators to prepare teachers to teach the intellectually demanding statistics in the Chapter 7 describes various strategies for assess- PreK–12 curriculum, and it serves as a resource to ing teachers’ statistical content knowledge. aid those efforts. This report (SET) aims to do the following: Chapter 8 provides a brief review of the research lit- erature supporting the recommendations in this report. • Clarify MET II’s recommendations for the statistical preparation of teachers at Chapter 9 presents an overview of the history of all grade levels: elementary, middle, and statistics education at the PreK–12 level. high school Appendix 1 includes a series of short examples • Address the professional development of and accompanying discussion that address particu- teachers of statistics lar difficulties that may occur while teaching statis- tics to teachers. • Highlight differences between statistics and mathematics that have important im- Appendix 2 includes a sample activity handout plications for teaching and learning for the illustrative examples presented in Chapters 4–6 that could be used in professional development • Illustrate the statistical problem-solving courses or a classroom. process across levels of development Web Resources • Make pedagogical recommendations of The ASA provides a variety of outstanding and particular relevance to statistics, includ- timely resources for teachers, including record- ing the use of technology and the role of ed web-based seminars, the Statistics Teacher assessment Network newsletter, and peer-reviewed lesson plans i | Statistical Education of Teachers PREFACE (STEW). These and other resources are available at for this report. Typically, they are re- www.amstat.org/education. sponsible for the pedagogical education The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics of mathematics and statistics teachers (NCTM) offers exceptional classroom resources, includ- (e.g., methods courses, field experiences ing lesson plans and interactive web activities. NCTM for prospective teachers). Outside of aca- has created a searchable classroom resources site that deme, a variety of people are engaged in can be accessed at www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/ professional development for teachers of Browse-All/#. statistics, including state, regional, and school-district mathematics specialists. Audience The term “mathematics educators” or “sta- This report is intended as a resource for all involved tistics educators” includes this audience. in the statistical education of teachers, both the ini- tial preparation of prospective teachers and the pro- • Policy makers. This report is intended fessional development of practicing teachers. Thus, to inform educational administrators and the three main audiences are: policy makers at the national, state, school district, and collegiate levels as they work • Mathematicians and statisticians. to provide PreK–12 students with a strong Faculty members of mathematics and sta- statistics education for an increasingly da- tistics departments at two- and four-year ta-driven world. Teachers’ preparation to collegiate institutions who teach cours- teach statistics is central to this effort and is es taken by prospective and practicing supported—or hindered—by institutional teachers. They and their departmental policies. These include national accreditation colleagues set policies regarding the sta- requirements, state certifications require- tistical preparation of teachers. ments, and the ways in which these require- ments are reflected in teacher preparation • Mathematics educators and sta- programs. State and district supervisors tistics educators. Mathematics ed- make choices in the provision and funding ucation and statistics education faculty of professional development. At the school members—whether within colleges of level, scheduling and policy affect the type education, mathematics departments, of learning experiences available to teachers. statistics departments, or other academ- Thus, policy makers play important roles in ic units—are also an important audience the statistical education of teachers. Statistical Education of Teachers | iv PREFACE Lesson Plans Available on Statistics Education Web for K–12 Teachers Statistics Education Web (STEW) is an online resource for peer-reviewed lesson plans for K–12 teachers. The lesson plans identify both the statistical concepts being devel- oped and the age range appropriate for their use. The statistical concepts follow the recommendations of the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Educa- tion (GAISE) Report: A Pre-K-12 Curriculum Framework, Common Core State Stan- Terminologydards for Mathematics, and NCTM PrinciplesWe and also Standards thank our for colleaguesSchool Mathematics Hollylynne. S. Lee, To avoid confusion,The website the resourcereport uses is organized the following around theStephen four J.elements Miller, Roxyin the Peck, GAISE Jamis framework: Perritt, Susan A. terminology:formulate a statistical question, design andPeters, implement Maxine a planPfannkuch, to collect Angela data, analyzeL.E. Walmsley, the data by measures and graphs, and interpretand Ann the dataE. Watkins in the contextfor their of willingness the original to serve as • Studentquestion. refers to Teachers a child or can adolescent navigate in the site byreviewers. grade level Their and thoughtful statistical commentstopic. Lessons improved the a PreK–12follow classroom. Common Core standards, GAISE recommendations,final document. and NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Finally, we acknowledge the support of the Ameri- • Teacher refers to an instructor in a PreK–12 can Statistical Association Board of Directors and the classroom,Lesson but also Plans may Wantedrefer to prospective for Statistics EducationASA-NCTM Web joint committee, as well as the assistance PreK–12The teachers editor in ofa collegeSTEW mathematicsis accepting submissionsof ASA of staff lesson members plans forRon anWasserstein, online bank Rebecca of Nich-