Implications of technology on what students need to know about statistics

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The availability of technology influences what people need to know about statistics, but do they need to know less, more or something different? As one piece in the jigsaw puzzle of this quest, this chapter focuses on the question of what student laboratory technicians in vocational education need to learn about statistics in the presence of technology. Through interviews with interns, intern supervisors and teachers, a questionnaire administered to interns, and workplace observations I have identified what statistical knowledge is taught and required. The knowledge required turned out to diverge across laboratories and to be highly influenced by the degree to which work is mediated by technology. For example, calibration and validation of measurement instruments is based on linear regression, but is often automated. Many computations are carried out on Excel sheets, but not all schools dedicate enough instruction time on spreadsheets. At least 30% of the interns (N=300) felt insufficiently prepared in terms of mathematics or statistics.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMit Werkzeugen Mathematik und Stochastik lernen - Using Tools for Learning Mathematics and Statistics
EditorsT. Wassong, D. Frischemeier, P.R. Fischer, R. Hochmuth, P. Bender
Place of PublicationWiesbaden
PublisherSpringer
Pages143-152
Number of pages10
ISBN (Print)978-3-658-03103-9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

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