Self-reported reading ability of parents of 174 reading-disabled children and of 182 controls was used to estimate the probability that a child will become reading disabled. Using Bayesian inverse probability analysis, it was found that the risk for reading disability is increased substantially if either parent has had difficulty in learning to…

This research aims to study the ways in which "local" events of randomness, based on experiencing the outcome of individual events, can be developed into "global" understandings that focus on an aggregated view of probability (e.g. probability of an event). The findings reported in the paper are part of a broader study that adopted a strategy of…

This paper introduces the reader to the concepts of binomial probability and simulation. A spreadsheet is used to illustrate these concepts. Random number generators are great technological tools for demonstrating the concepts of probability. Ideas of approximation, estimation, and mathematical usefulness provide numerous ways of learning…

Between November 2004, and March 2005, the Center for Civic Education conducted a survey of alumni from the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program. Altogether, 522 alumni responded, ranging in age from 18-34. The primary focus of the study was on voting and other forms of political engagement. Due to self-selection by respondents,…

An active area in psychometric research is coordinated task design and statistical analysis built around cognitive models. Compared with classical test theory and item response theory, there is often less information from observed data about the measurement-model parameters. On the other hand, there is more information from the grounding…

This book helps teachers define good questions, offers tips on how to create their own good questions, and includes a wide variety of questions for use in the classroom. Each chapter of the book is organized by subject area and age group so that teachers can locate the topic their class is working on, then select probing, thought-provoking…

This report considers the reasoning of sixth grade students as they explore problem tasks concerning the fairness of dice games. The particular focus is the students' interactions, verbal and non-verbal, as they build and justify representations that extend their basic understanding of number combinations in order to model the outcome set of a…

Fairly large amount of research on students' conceptions of probability has been reported in the literature. Most of this work represents school students' reasoning of probability in individual setting. This study provides 8 secondary school mathematics preservice teachers' reasoning of probability in both individual and pair settings. Consistent…

This book presents motivational ways to teach key concepts and topics common to all secondary mathematics curricula. It is arranged by subject matter which includes algebra, geometry, trigonometry, probability, statistics, and miscellaneous topics. The objective to be attained by implementing the unit on each of these subjects is stated, and the…

As increased use of technology and empirical science spreads throughout the global community, the use of data and graphs to communicate information increases also. This digest offers resources for teaching and learning about probability and statistics. It begins with key issues and continues with recommendations to overcome the difficulties in the…

The present report describes an expanded replication of the previous experiments in a nonlaboratory real-play setting unique to the experimental literature on decision processes - a casino in downtown Las Vegas. (Author)

This article points out that many students, even of college age, lack familiarity with and confidence about probability problems. Several examples are given, including a "fair game" situation which would probably cause many readers some initial concern. (LS)