Identifying the mistakes in student responses and being able to manage the solution process are among the fundamental skills that should be acquired by the pre-service teachers. This skill is important in probability, about which students have a great number of misconceptions. The aim of this study was to determine the misconceptions in the…

In this study, it was aimed to reveal the opinions of mathematics teacher candidates about the use of the GeoGebra program, which is dynamic geometry software, in the teaching of probability, which is among the concepts that we generally use in the decision-making process in uncertain situations that we encounter in the teaching process by…

Normative discourse about probability requires shared meanings for disciplinary vocabulary. Previous research indicates that students' meanings for probability vocabulary often differ from those of mathematicians, creating a need to attend to developing students' use of language. Current standards documents conflict in their recommendations about…

This study aims to analyse the approaches to probability that were carried out by the participants of the teaching practice of Primary Education teachers and, more specifically, their teaching trajectories. To do this we analysed 23 video-recorded classes of all levels, using a previously validated instrument. Results show trajectories…

In this paper, we derive the result of the classical gambler's ruin problem using elementary linear algebra. Moreover, the pedagogical advantage of the derivation is briefly discussed.

This is an activity for younger learners in which the concepts of relative frequency and probability are explored, illustrating how a creative, non-transmission teaching approach using bottle tops can enable students to develop their understanding in an engaging fashion and at almost no cost.

This article describes activities in which students deepen their relational understanding of the equals sign through exploring inequalities in a competitive dice game, built around the familiar fairy-tale "The Three Little Pigs" and "The Big Bad Wolf." The activity can be adapted to different abilities by choosing more or less…

"Probability is a difficult concept to teach, because children and adults find it counterintuitive." This is impetus to consider the detailed planning of a set of lessons with a "mixed", in many senses, group of fourth graders. Can the use of prior experience, and the knowledge associated with that experience, make probability a concept that is…

This article by Elizabeth Reeve and Kim Beswick illustrates how primary children may engage with the Statistics and Probability content contained in the Australian Curriculum. Technology has opened up many possibilities for young children to engage with statistics. In the process the children learned a great deal more than just mathematics.

The theme of the 39th proceedings of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA) conference was "Synergy at the Crossroads: Future Directions for Theory, Research, and Practice." The metaphor of crossroads was inspired by the conference venue--the historic Indianapolis Union…

This study reports from a pre-service teacher's online learning and assessment activity on determining variability of two graphical artefacts. Using a critical-analytical perspective to data, the present study indicates that the prospective teachers surveyed showed awareness of relevant subject specific operators and methods; however, these seem…

In the present research, we evaluated the effectiveness of a multi-year professional development program in mathematics for elementary teachers. Each year the program focused on a different domain of mathematics. We found the program increased teachers' knowledge of (a) number and operations, (b) measurement and geometry, and (c) probability and…

Using sequences of coin flips as a model of serial independent events, we asked schoolchildren in grades 1 through 5 to estimate the likelihood of the next flip. Most children in each grade expected short patterns to continue.

There is much to be learned and pondered by reading "Proofs and Refutations" by Imre Lakatos (Lakatos, 1976). It highlights the importance of mathematical definitions, and how definitions evolve to capture the essence of the object they are defining. It also provides an exhilarating encounter with the ups and downs of the mathematical reasoning…

Connecting stories to qualitative coordinate graphs has been suggested as an effective instructional strategy. Even students who are able to "create" bar graphs may struggle to correctly "interpret" them. Giving children opportunities to work with qualitative graphs can help them develop the skills to interpret, describe, and compare information…