Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge of Pre-Service Elementary Teachers in Data Analysis and Probability

Abstract

Many current pre-service elementary mathematics content courses do not dedicate more than two chapters for data analysis and lack the appropriate depth and approach. As students, pre-service teachers are more accustomed to learning and using isolated statistical skills such as calculating a mean or producing a graph, rather than seeing the skill as an integral part of an investigative process. Most understand the procedural aspect, which is learned by rote, but lack the conceptual understanding. This project, “Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge of Pre-service Elementary Teachers in Data Analysis and Probability,” evaluated the pre-service teachers pre conceptual and pre procedural knowledge by giving a ten-question test. There will be a posttest to evaluate post conceptual and post procedural knowledge. The results showed that pre-service teachers need significant time and experience in their coursework with the process of statistical investigation, rather than a more traditional theoretical approach, in order to develop “data sense” (being able to integrate many aspects of the distribution of data into a cohesive, coherent interpretation). The opportunity to develop data sense should occur as part of a statistical investigative problem-solving process (Garfield, pp.187-196). In the process of continued learning through the use of the developed materials, the prospective teachers will hopefully help students attain skills and experiences that will allow them to increase their conceptual and procedural knowledge which in turn will allow them to guide their future students to appreciate learning new things and to develop their ability to understand data. This is important because many recent curriculum recommendations call for an increased emphasis on data analysis throughout the K-12 curriculum.