Improving Teaching and Learning of Probability and Statistics

Leaders in probability and statistics education suggest that involving students in all four components of statistical inquiry—formulating statistical questions, collecting data, analyzing data, and interpreting results—will improve student understanding of probability and statistics education standards and student performance on associated achievement measures. Curriculum materials developed by the American Statistical Association with these four components have existed for years but have not been tested in an impact study. A recent REL Southeast study tested the effects of a program involving these curriculum materials and associated professional development workshops on student understanding of statistics and statistics instruction. The program, Supporting Teacher Enactment of the Probability and Statistics Standards (STEPSS), was evaluated through a partnership among REL Southeast, Broward County Public Schools (Florida), and the American Statistical Association. The study found that the program had a positive effect on student understanding of statistics and increased the cognitive complexity of classroom instruction. The STEPSS program is now on a relatively short list of mathematics programs that have been subjected to a randomized controlled trial and found to have a positive effect on student understanding of statistics. Read the report at: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=4567