Three student tasks in a study of distribution in a “best practice” statistics classroom

Three selected student tasks from a 2-week study of the statistical concept of distribution in Year 9 class are examined. The tasks considered the exclusion of outliers, analysis of data using a semi-formal framework (GICS) developed for this study, and comparing two distributions. The pedagogy was modelled on current statistics education research best practice, with an emphasis on the cultivation of classroom dialogue where students explain and justify their positions. Fathom ™ software was used by the students in a computer laboratory, and as a teaching aid in the classroom to support learning. Distribution is a statistical concept that considers a data set as entire aggregate, with its own characteristics of measures of centre, such as mean and median; of measures of spread, such a density; and the shape of the distribution such as that known, for example, as a normal distribution. This comprehensive conceptual entity requires simultaneous consideration and integration of all aspects of the data set. This is a demanding task for students. Sophisticated statistical tools such as standard deviation, taught normally at senior high school, might support analysis, but at the expense of developing more intuitive notions of the data set. Current education research considers whether the use of semi