Developing Teachers’
Understanding of Statistics
Tim Jacobbe
University of Florida
jacobbe@coe.ufl.edu
DRL-1118168
Overview of Today’s Session
• Overview of the LOCUS Assessments
• Teachers’ Performance on LOCUS
• Some Materials for Teacher Development
LOCUS Assessment Project
• Principal Investigator: Tim Jacobbe,
University of Florida
• Co-Principal Investigators
– Bob delMas, University of Minnesota
– Jeff Haberstroh, Educational Testing
Service (ETS)
– Brad Hartlaub, Kenyon College
• External Evaluator: Jim Hammerman, TERC
• Research Fellows: Catherine Case, Steven
Foti, Douglas Whitaker, University of Florida
An Amazing Team
• Advisory Board: David Miller, Dick
Scheaffer, Mike Shaughnessy, Jane Watson
• Beginning/Intermediate Items (Grades 6-9):
Chris Franklin, Brad Hartlaub, Gary Kader,
Mary Lindquist, and Jerry Moreno
• Intermediate/Advanced Items (Grades 1012): Bob delMas, Roxy Peck, Mike Perry,
and Josh Tabor
LOCUS: Three Broad Goals
• Develop instruments to assess levels of
statistical understanding as initially defined in
the CCSS and the Guidelines for Assessment &
Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE)
framework (Change the way statistics is
assessed)
• Provide a characterization of the level of
understanding of statistical topics
• Provide a tool for researchers and teachers to
assess growth in statistical understanding
Evidence-Centered Design: 5 Layers
• Domain Analysis: GAISE, CCSS, learning
trajectories from statistics education research
• Domain Modeling: Advisory Board provide
feedback on mapping of CCSS and GAISE
• Conceptual Assessment Framework:
Evidence Model derived from domain analysis
• Assessment Implementation: Develop and
pilot assessment tasks
• Assessment Delivery: Final forms of
assessments & dissemination of results
Design of Experiments
Final Evidence Model
EVIDENCE
STATEMENT
LEVEL
DESCRIPTION
WORK PRODUCTS
A.2.3
Students understand how
to conduct simple
experiments with
assignment of treatments.
Students demonstrate the
understanding that an
experiment can be designed
to measure the effect of
treatments …
… Students should be able to
identify the experimental units,
treatment groups, response
variable and other variables.
B.2.2
Students understand how
to design and conduct
comparative experiments
and begin to use random
assignment.
Students … demonstrate
correct methods
for…comparison of
treatments. Students
randomly assign treatments
to experimental units.
… Students should understand
that causal claims may be possible
if experiments are conducted
with random assignment.
C.2.2
Students understand what
constitutes good practice
in conducting an
experiment.
Students identify, discuss,
and explain best statistical
practice … identification of
the statistical question;
variables; and the random
assignment of treatments to
the experimental units.
… students design or critique an
experimental design. Aspects of
statistical design are included in
the study … to allow for the
possibility of making causal
conclusions about differences
between groups.
Three Levels from GAISE Framework
• Ideally (Franklin & Mewborn, 2006)
– A: Elementary school grades
– B: Middle school grades
– C: High school
• Two levels of Assessment:
– Beginning and Intermediate (Levels A and B)
– Intermediate and Advanced (Levels B and C)
Approximate Emphasis on
Practice and Process Components
of Statistical Problem Solving
Process Component
Beginning/Intermediate
Intermediate/Advanced
Formulating Questions
10-15%
15-20%
Collecting Data
25-30%
20-25%
Analyzing Data
30-35%
25-30%
Interpreting Data
25-30%
30-35%
Teachers’ Performance
Process Component
Preservice Teachers
(n=268)
Inservice Teachers
(n=493)
Formulating Questions
84%
88%
Collecting Data
70%
76%
Analyzing Data
66%
69%
Interpreting Data
64%
71%
Overall
69%
74%
Teachers’ vs. Students’ Performance
Process
Component
Preservice
Teachers (n=268)
Inservice
Teachers (n=493)
AP Statistcs
(n=936)
Formulating
Questions
84%
88%
78%
Collecting Data
70%
76%
67%
Analyzing Data
66%
69%
61%
Interpreting Data
64%
71%
56%
Overall
69%
74%
63%
Formulate Questions
Collect Data
Analyze Data
Interpret Data
What Should We Do?
• Teacher performance is encouraging
considering there has been limited training
• LOCUS Measures Statistical Understanding
Expected of STUDENTS in grades 6-12
ASA’s Statistics Education of
Teachers
ASA and NCTM K-12 Resources
ASA K-12 Resources
Some Ongoing Projects
• NSF-Funded CAREER: Investigating Middle and
Secondary Mathematics Teachers” Transformative
Learning of Statistics within Professional
Development (PI: Sue Peters, University of
Louisville)
• MOOC-Ed Teaching Statistics Through Data
Investigations http://mooc-ed.org/tsdi (PI:
Hollylynne S. Lee)
• Project-SET: Statistics Education for Teachers (PI:
Anna Bargagliotti)
https://locus.statisticseducation.org
Register for an Account
Next Step for LOCUS
• Website aimed at professional development
of teachers
– Commentaries
– Sample items
– Evidence Model
• Continue to influence statistics items on
high-stakes assessments
Thank You for Participating
(or Watching)
Tim Jacobbe, jacobbe@coe.ufl.edu
DRL-1118168