Correcting Students' Misconceptions about Probability in an Introductory College Statistics Course

Autor/inn/en	Khazanov, Leonid; Prado, Lucio
Titel	Correcting Students' Misconceptions about Probability in an Introductory College Statistics Course
Quelle	In: Adults Learning Mathematics, 5 (2010) 1, S.23-35 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1744-1803
Schlagwörter	Mathematics Instruction; College Mathematics; Mathematical Concepts; Misconceptions; Probability; Urban Schools; Community Colleges; College Faculty; Cognitive Processes; Psychological Patterns; Two Year College Students; Workshops; Questionnaires + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Mathematics lessons; Mathematikunterricht; Missverständnis; Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung; Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie; Urban area; Urban areas; School; Schools; Stadtregion; Stadt; Schule; Community college; Community College; Fakultät; Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess; Lernwerkstatt; Schulung; Fragebogen
Abstract	College students' misconceptions about probability are common and widespread. These misconceptions impede students' ability to make sound judgments in situations of uncertainty and master fundamental concepts of inferential statistics. In this paper the authors report the results of a study undertaken with the objective of correcting three common stochastic misconceptions within the framework of an introductory statistics course. Six instructors were recruited from an urban community college, along with their students. These instructors implemented a number of activities designed by one of the investigators and aimed at correcting the representativeness bias, the equiprobability misconception, and the outcome orientation bias. The purpose of the activities was to trigger cognitive conflict thereby leading students to bring out and correct their incomplete or erroneous concepts. Three of the instructors attended a workshop on misconceptions before implementing the activities; the other three implemented the activities without going through training. Instructors in the third (control) group did not implement any of the proposed activities and were not trained. An instrument designed by one of the investigators was used to measure the extent of students' misconceptions at the end of the semester in both treatment groups and the control group. The results show that trained instructors achieved significantly better outcomes than the control group in correcting two of the misconceptions: the representativeness bias and outcome orientation. By contrast, instructors who implemented the activities without being trained did not post better results than the control group in resolving any of the misconceptions. The results suggest that it is possible to improve students' conceptual understanding of probability and correct their misconceptions by targeting the misconceptions directly in an introductory college statistics course. They also suggest that training on misconceptions is critical in ensuring instructors' ability to successfully address students' erroneous concepts about probability. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Adults Learning Mathematics. 26 Tennyson Road, Kilburn, London NW6 7SA UK. e-mail: editor-i@alm-online.net; Web site: http://www.alm-online.net
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01