Understanding 15-year-old students' conceptions of randomness through their 'potential worlds': a qualitative analysis

In this paper, we investigate the ways in which 15 year-old students conceive interrelated issues of randomness. We deal with these issues of randomness as a whole and not separately from each other, in contrast to the research so far. In order to analyse the students' ways we introduce a modif...

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Published in:International journal of mathematical education in science and technology Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 237 - 258
Main Authors: Braessas, Zisimos, Patronis, Tasos
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Taylor & Francis 07.02.2021
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:
Foreign Countries
Grade 9
independence
Intuition
Kyburg's schema
Logical Thinking
Mathematics Instruction
potential world
Probability
Qualitative analysis
random sequences
Randomness
Schemata (Cognition)
Secondary School Students
Statistical inference
Student Attitudes
Students
subjectivity
Task Analysis
Teaching Methods
Greece
ISSN:0020-739X, 1464-5211
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In this paper, we investigate the ways in which 15 year-old students conceive interrelated issues of randomness. We deal with these issues of randomness as a whole and not separately from each other, in contrast to the research so far. In order to analyse the students' ways we introduce a modification of Kyburg's Schema [(1974). The logical foundations of statistical inference. Boston: Reidel] for subjective interpretation of randomness, together with the notion of a student's potential world as a new theoretical framework. This last notion comprises all views, beliefs and ideas a student has at a specific time about the notion of randomness, which have been formed from his/her individual interpretation of experiences. Our analysis of responses from students' interviews reveals that few students conceive the notions of randomness in a uniform way, while the rest of them conceive these notions in different ways. It turns out that this variety of students' conceptions depends heavily on their own potential worlds, which are grounded on social, personal or institutional sources.
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ISSN:0020-739X
1464-5211
DOI:10.1080/0020739X.2019.1676928