Pedagogical content knowledge for Statistics Pedagogical content knowledge means knowing how to teach a specific subject, discipline or context. There is a school of thought that the skill of teaching is transferable between subjects, so long as the teacher knows … Continue reading →
Teaching how to write statistical reports It is difficult to write statistical reports and it is difficult to teach how to write statistical reports. When statistics is taught in the traditional way, with emphasis on the underlying mathematics the process … Continue reading →
Teaching a service course in statistics Most students who enrol in an initial course in statistics at university level do so because they have to. I did some research on attitudes to statistics in my entry level quantitative methods course, … Continue reading →
The median suffers from poor marketing. All my time at school the “average” was always calculated as the arithmetic mean, by adding up all the scores and then dividing by the number of scores. When we were taught about the … Continue reading →
What is the statistical enquiry cycle and why is it a cycle? Is it really a cycle? The New Zealand curriculum for Mathematics and statistics was recently held up as an example of good practice with regard to statistics. Yay … Continue reading →
Videos are useful teaching and learning resources There is much talk about “flipped classrooms” and the wonders of Khan Academy, YouTube abounds with videos about everything…really! Even television news reports show YouTube clips. Teachers and instructors use videos in their … Continue reading →
In teaching it can be difficult to know whether to start with a problem or a solution method. It seems more obvious to start with the problem, but sometimes it is better to introduce the possibility of the solution before … Continue reading →
The role of context in statistical analysis The wonderful advantage of teaching statistics is the real-life context within which any applicaton must exist. This can also be one of the difficulties. Statistics without context is merely the mathematics of statistics, … Continue reading →
“Less is More” is a bit of a funny title for a mathematical blog! Garlic bread and Ice Cream Sundaes Back in the seventies, garlic bread became very popular in our household. I loved its buttery, salty, garlicky goodness, and … Continue reading →
Confidence Intervals Confidence intervals are needed because there is variation in the world. Nearly all natural, human or technological processes result in outputs which vary to a greater or lesser extent. Examples of this are people’s heights, students’ scores in … Continue reading →
