A Sweet Way to Teach Students about the Sampling Distribution of the Mean

Abstract

In this article, we describe a hands-on, in-class demonstration using M&M's® candy to illustrate the concept of the sampling distribution of the mean. With the class serving as the population, each student receives a small package of M&M's. The instructor draws samples from the population and constructs an actual sampling distribution. Students in two statistics courses received either the M&M demonstration or a comparable demonstration using a textbook example. They took a quiz on their knowledge and rated their attitudes toward the demonstration. Results indicated that students who participated in the M&M demonstration answered more questions correctly on the quiz, believed they had learned more, enjoyed class more, and had fewer negative feelings toward the demonstration than those who received the textbook example demonstration.