Reasoning and Communicating in the Language of Statistics

Abstract

Although graduate students in education are frequently required to write papers throughout their coursework, they typically have limited experience in communicating in the language of statistics, both verbally and in written form. To succeed in their future careers, students must be provided with opportunities to develop deep understandings of concepts, develop reasoning skills, and become familiar with verbalizing and writing about statistics. The instructional approach described here spans the entire semester of a statistics course and consists of several aspects including cognitively rich individual assignments, small group activities, and a student-led scoring activity. To demonstrate the impact of this approach on student learning, qualitative and quantitative data were collected from students in two statistics courses. Several assessments indicate improvement in students' reasoning and understanding, written and verbal communication, and confidence.

Language Challenges and Strategies for English Language Learners in Statistics Education: An Overview of Research in This Field

“…To be able to communicate statistically both verbally and in writing, students must understand the highly technical language used specifically in statistics (Gal, 2004, Kaplan, Rogness, & Fisher, 2014Parke, 2008;Watson, 2006). This language may be used in everyday English, and therefore is likely to be familiar or understood by English Language Learners (Groth, Butler, & Nelson, 2016;Lavy & Mashiach-Eizenberg, 2009;Lesser & Winsor, 2009).…”

“…While the role of language in the teaching and learning of mathematics is now well established in the literature (Bay-Williams & Herrera, 2007;Clarkson, 2007;Hoffert, 2009;Moschkovich, 2007;Planas & Civil, 2013), there have been a few research studies about language issues in learning statistics (Kaplan, Fisher, & Rogness, 2009;Lavy & Mashiach-Eizenberg, 2009;Parke, 2008;Rangecroft, 2002) but these did not involve English Language Learners.…”

Using context variety and students' discussions in recognizing statistical situations

“…The rest of the group provided feedback to the student about their misclassification and the elements that allow the scenario to be properly classified. This communication activity has been identified as useful for students to verbalize their thoughts (Parke ).…”

Computer-Automated Approach for Scoring Short Essays in an Introductory Statistics Course

“…There was, however, a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the content quality and grammar of the essays on the final exam. Parke (2008) described her experiences with incorporating activities emphasizing communication, both oral and written, into a graduate-level intermediate statistics course for education students. She emphasized the importance of these skills as her students need to not only understand statistical analyses themselves, but also to be able to communicate them to others.…”