On average, Florida students earn only half of the points possible in the statistics content area of the state's annual mathematics assessment. Leaders in Broward County Public Schools, a large, diverse, urban school district, viewed changes to statistics curriculum and instruction as one way to address this issue. This study randomly assigned 40…

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) has identified low student achievement in statistics in the middle grades as a critical concern. It has also expressed concern that statistics instruction does not meet the level of cognitive complexity described in the state curriculum standards. This randomized controlled trial in 40 BCPS middle schools…

Whether students are beginning their study of probability or are well into it, distinctions between complementary sets and mutually exclusive sets can be confusing. Cathy Schloemer writes in this article that for years she used typical classroom examples but was not happy with the student engagement or the level of understanding they produced.…

These are the appendixes for the report "Effects of an Inquiry-Oriented Curriculum and Professional Development Program on Grade 7 Students' Understanding of Statistics and on Statistics Instruction." This cluster-randomized controlled trial compared the Supporting Teacher Enactment of the Probability and Statistics Standards (STEPSS)…

Hypothesis testing is one of the more difficult concepts for students to master in a basic, undergraduate statistics course. Students often are puzzled as to why statisticians simply don't calculate the probability that a hypothesis is true. This article presents an exercise that forces students to lay out on their own a procedure for testing a…

Examines the role of variation in statistics education. Describes a chance and data unit with a focus on variation that was conducted in three high school mathematics classes. (ASK)

In this issue's "Classroom Notes" section, the following papers are discussed: (1) "Constructing a line segment whose length is equal to the measure of a given angle" (W. Jacob and T. J. Osler); (2) "Generating functions for the powers of Fibonacci sequences" (D. Terrana and H. Chen); (3) "Evaluation of mean and variance integrals without…

A self-teaching module on queues, dealing with the use of random numbers in the simulation of realistic queueing or waiting-line situations, is described. Both mathematical content and teaching methods are considered. (MNS)

Described is a unit, SAMPLING, which focuses on developing student understanding of probability and data collection for junior high school students. Activities in SAMPLING incorporate physical materials, simple computer simulations, surveys of subjective data, computer simulations of complex situations, and a culminating activity requiring the…

Activities for a 10-day unit on probability and statistics are described, with preplanning ideas included. Spinners, dice, cards, wheels, and other materials are used in a variety of games. (MNS)

ProbLab is a probability-and-statistics unit developed at the Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern University. Students analyze the combinatorial space of the 9-block, a 3-by-3 grid of squares, in which each square can be either green or blue. All 512 possible 9-blocks are constructed and assembled in a "bar…

Twelve resource units are presented for the teaching of science and mathematics to gifted students in secondary school. The units present an introduction, tips for teachers, objectives, activities, and materials lists. The units include: "Functions, Relations, and Graphs" (Priscilla Watts); "More Wham to the Gram (A Study of the…

The sport of Ultimate has grown from parking lot fun to international competition in its 35 year existence. As in many sports, the team that scores is subsequently on defense. Thus the probability that a team will score next is dependent on which team has scored most recently. Unlike in many other sports, teams switch ends after each score. Thus…

This curriculum guide covers Course II of a three-year sequence for high school mathematics in New York which was intended to provide an alternative to the regular Regents' sequence of ninth-, tenth-, and eleventh-grade mathematics. A listing of scope and content is provided along with suggested time allotments. Topics covered are: Logic,…

The purpose of this revised syllabus/guide is to help teachers and administrators plan and implement Course II in the the State Three-Year Sequence for High School Mathematics for Regents credit. Course II builds upon the state mathematics curriculum outlined in the department's mathematics K-6, Grade 7, Grade 8, and Course I publications.…