STEM Education Institute Tuesday Seminar
“High School Mathematics Teachers’ Evolving Understanding of Statistics”
Sandra Madden
Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies
Statistics has achieved a position of status in the secondary curriculum and understanding of statistics is essential for high school mathematics teachers if they are to engage students in thoughtful pursuit of statistical ideas. High school teachers typically are ill-prepared in the area of statistics. Using methods of design research, this study investigated 56 high school mathematics teachers’ understanding of the statistical concept of comparing distributions and demonstrated that a modest four-day, statistics-oriented, technology-rich, professional development session may significantly improve teachers’ understanding. Teachers participated in a reflective, learner-centered classroom environment with the potential to impact their teaching practice. The use of innovative statistical professional development materials for high school mathematics teachers used in this study will be discussed as will the methods used to assess their success.