Elementary School Teachers: Teaching, Understanding and Using Statistics Anna E. Bargagliotti1 & Derek Webb2

1University of Memphis, 2Bemidji State University

Overview

Guiding Questions

Interweaving factors related to elementary teacher preparation in statistics• Data and data-driven decision-making are being set as the gold-

standard 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

General Framework On the Job Data

Teacher Preparation Recommendations

Contact Information

ComparisonCommon CoreNCTM StandardsStudent LearningPrinciples 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

• Decomposes Data Analysis and Probability strand into four sub-standards that divided into expectations for Pre-K-2 and 3-5 grade-band

Student Learning

Policy &Regulations

On the Job Requirements

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

• Level A and B may be pertinent to elementary grades

Derek WebbDept. of Mathematics and Computer Science

Bemidji State University Dwebb@bemidjistate.edu

Anna E. BargagliottiDept. of Mathematical Sciences

University of Memphisabargag@yahoo.com

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

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

• 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

• 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:

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

Common Core State Standards