Repeated Random Sampling in Year 5. Issue 1 (2nd January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Watson, Jane M.; English, Lyn D.
• Is Part Of: Journal of statistics education. Volume 24:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 27
• Page End: 37
• Publication Date: 2016-01-02
• Subjects: Elementary students -- Environmentally friendly habits -- Population predictions -- Random samples -- Sampling -- TinkerPlots; Statistics -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Statistics -- Study and teaching; Periodicals; 519.5071
• DOI: Http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10691898.2016.1158026
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1069-1898

Abstract

ABSTRACT: As an extension to an activity introducing Year 5 students to the practice of statistics, the software TinkerPlots made it possible to collect repeated random samples from a finite population to informally explore students' capacity to begin reasoning with a distribution of sample statistics. This article provides background for the sampling process and reports on the success of students in making predictions for the population from the collection of simulated samples and in explaining their strategies. The activity provided an application of the numeracy skill of using percentages, the numerical summary of the data, rather than graphing data in the analysis of samples to make decisions on a statistical question. About 70% of students made what were considered at least moderately good predictions of the population percentages for five yes–no questions, and the correlation between predictions and explanations was 0.78.