Helping teachers to make effective use of real-world examples in statistics

Real-world data can be used in the classroom to stimulate the learning of important statistical principles. A recent study with pre-service primary/elementary teachers highlighted that even when teachers were supplied with a suitable statistically rich example, some did not identify its affordances, and struggled to bring out the significant ideas in their planned lesson. This paper examines some of the issues associated with example use, and investigates whether a simple intervention might help teachers make more effective use of such examples. The results suggest that a simple framework of focus and planning questions may help teachers to identify significant statistical ideas for teaching and bring them out in their lessons. This is not to say that addressing content and pedagogical content knowledge issues more explicitly with teachers will not also be helpful, especially since some shortcomings in both areas were still evident in the lesson plans.