146 Proceedings of epiSTEME 3 Exploring the Confusions: Bar Graphs

Professional development with practicing teachers of math-ematics in the middle grades from the U.S. and India re-vealed confusions about the construction and interpreta-tion of data with bar graphs when working with certain kinds of data. Textbooks often influence teachers ’ deci-sions about what and how mathematics is taught. Textbooks used in both countries were examined for definitions, de-scriptions, and examples that highlighted (or obscured) fea-tures of bar graphs. Potential sources of confusion for teach-ers (and ultimately their students) regarding this type of graph were identified. Implications and recommendations for teaching data analysis with bar graphs are provided