First‐year undergraduate students’ statistical problem‐solving skills

Abstract

This study investigated first‐year undergraduate statistics students’ statistical problem‐solving skills on the probability of the union of two events, conditional probability, binomial probability distribution, probabilities for x‐limits using the z‐distribution, x‐limit associated with a given probability for a normal distribution, estimating the y‐value using a regression equation, and hypothesis testing for a single population mean when a population standard deviation is unknown. The study was a descriptive case study and employed a mixed‐method research approach. Data were collected through content analysis of a statistics course examination script of 120 first‐year undergraduate students of statistics in an open distance‐learning university in South Africa. Polya's Model of Problem Solving was used as the framework of analysis. The study revealed that the students, in general, had poor statistical problem‐solving skills.