A fundamental aspect of statistical inference is representation of real-world data using statistical models. This article analyzes students' articulations of statistical models and modeling during their first steps in making informal statistical inferences. An integrated modeling approach (IMA) was designed and implemented to help students…

Researchers and teachers often recommend motivating exercises and use of mathematics or statistics software for the teaching of basic courses in probability and statistics. Our courses are given to large groups of engineering students at Lund Institute of Technology. We found that the mere existence of real-life data and technology in a course…

In the criminal justice system, defendants accused of a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Statistical inference in any context is built on an analogous principle: The null hypothesis--often a hypothesis of "no difference" or "no effect"--is presumed true unless there is sufficient evidence against it. In this…

The focus here is on the students' uses for numbers in both school and home settings. The included activities emphasize a growth and development theme involving various aspects of data collection, data interpretation, probability, and statistics. Also included are parent-child extended activity worksheets. (JJK)