Teachers' Conceptions and Professional Knowledge of Variability from Their Interpretation of Histograms: The Case of Venezuelan In-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Autor/in	González, Orlando
Titel	Teachers' Conceptions and Professional Knowledge of Variability from Their Interpretation of Histograms: The Case of Venezuelan In-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers
Quelle	In: Statistics Education Research Journal, 20 (2021) 2, Artikel 15 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1570-1824
Schlagwörter	Statistics Education; Mathematics Teachers; Mathematical Concepts; Knowledge Level; Statistical Distributions; Graphs; Data; Foreign Countries; Misconceptions; Knowledge Base for Teaching; High School Teachers; Secondary School Mathematics; Teacher Competencies; Venezuela + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Mathematics; Teacher; Teachers; Mathematik; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Wissensbasis; Wahrscheinlichkeitsverteilung; Grafische Darstellung; Daten; Ausland; Missverständnis; Teaching theory; Theory of teaching; Unterrichtstheorie; High school; High schools; Oberschule; Lehrkunst
Abstract	Many studies have reported on the influence of teachers' conceptions of variability on different aspects of their professional knowledge for teaching statistics and their classroom practices. However, research on these kind of conceptions is still scarce, particularly in Latin American countries like Venezuela. In an effort to help fill this gap, a qualitative study was conducted that aimed to characterize the different ways in which Venezuelan in-service secondary school mathematics teachers conceptualize variability. For that purpose, a survey instrument was developed and administered to 27 teachers working at the metropolitan area of Caracas. This paper focuses on the participants' answers to two items in which interpretation of histograms was necessary. It was found that about a third of the participants exhibited a sophisticated recognition of variability (e.g., gave answers connecting both middles and extremes), whereas about half of them exhibited misconceptions of variability, such as acknowledging variability from the viewpoint of idiosyncratic ideas, or the degree of symmetry (or lack thereof) of a histogram. Moreover, it was also found that about two-thirds of the participants were unable to correctly match real-life contexts to their corresponding histograms, while about two-fifths were unable to correctly determine the accuracy or inaccuracy of descriptions of the variability in a histogram. The author discusses possible reasons for the obtained results, in order to identify relevant implications for teacher education in the area of statistics. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	International Association for Statistical Education and the International Statistical Institute. PO Box 24070, 2490 AB The Hague, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-70-3375737; Fax: +31-70-3860025; e-mail: isi@cbs.nl; Web site: https://iase-web.org/ojs/SERJ
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01