Difficulties in Learning Basic Concepts in Probability and Statistics: Implications for Research

Abstract

There is a growing movement to introduce elements of statistics and probability into the secondary and even the elementary school curriculum, as part of basic literacy in mathematics. Although many articles in the education literature recommend how to teach statistics better, there is little published research on how students actually learn statistics concepts. The experience of psychologists, educators, and statisticians alike is that a large proportion of students, even in college, do not understand many of the basic statistical concepts they have studied.