The goal of this paper is to promote computational thinking among mathematics, engineering, science and technology students, through hands-on computer experiments. These activities have the potential to empower students to learn, create and invent with technology, and they engage computational thinking through simulations, visualizations and data…

Describes a lesson in which students develop a knowledge of the principles of chance and apply them to real world events. (CCM)

Recounts a teacher's experiences with a small group of elementary school students as they explore different forms of the combinatorics problem of choosing two out of five objects. Describes how students examine the connections between the problems and a proof of the relationship. (MDH)

Children at many levels enjoy using spinners to explore probabilities and practice predicting, tabulating and graphing outcomes, and observing results. Directions for making spinners, descriptions of several activities, and sample worksheets are provided. (SD)

A program is proposed for teaching statistics and probability to elementary school children. Task analysis is used to determine concept sequence and detailed behavioral objectives are specified. (CR)

The social science finding that two-thirds of a population of successful males are first-born sons provided the motivation for a problem solved by a 12th grade honors class. The class proved that the probability of choosing a first-born son from a male population is about two-thirds. (JP)

The purpose of this paper is to present problems (and solutions) from the areas of marketing, population planning, system reliability, and mathematics to show how a computer simulation can be used as a problem-solving strategy in probability. Examples using BASIC and two methods of generating random numbers are given. (Author/MP)

The conference centered on three main threads: (1) learning and the choice of materials; (2) the return to arithmetic; (3) topics (applications, geometry, probability, computers). Capsule summaries of the papers read and the ensuing discussions are presented. (JP)

This teacher's guide to probability and statistics contains three major sections. The first section on elementary combinatorial principles includes activities, student problems, and suggested teaching procedures for the multiplication principle, permutations, and combinations. Section two develops an intuitive approach to probability through…

The instruction of probability and statistics is promoted as an area for exploration in elementary school. Activities are suggested that are designed to provide pupils with opportunities to learn desired concepts through informal, exploratory exercises. A total of eight different activities are suggested, with four each under probability and…

Four learning activities designed to teach some basic concepts of probability through experiential learning are presented. Worksheets designed for duplication are included. Two of the ideas are geared towards grades 1 through 5; the others are designed for grades 4 through 8. (MP)

The on-off settings of a series of eight switches determines the code to open garage doors. Presented are two problems asking the probability that two people would have the same garage door opener code or whether a specific person would have the same code as another person in the neighborhood. (MDH)

The purpose of this teaching unit is to approach elementary probability problems in three ways. First, actual trials are performed and results are recorded. Second, a simple computer simulation of the problem provided on diskette and written for Apple IIe and IIc computers, is run several times. Finally, the mathematical solution of the problem is…