Collaborative influences on emergent statistical thinking - a case study

The purpose of this case study is to examine how collaboration affects the emergent statistical thinking of a group of three Grade 6 boys. Results of previous studies of students in Grades 3, 6, and 9 suggested that (a) when finding and justifying associations in data sets students working in groups may produce higher level outcomes than those working individually, and (b) there are numerous factors that influence the success or otherwise of collaborative activity. The current study, based on detailed analysis of video tape and transcripts of a group working collaboratively on a data handling task, documents various factors that affect collaboration and how these contribute to the attainment of desirable cognitive outcomes in terms of the task set. These outcomes are classified by emergent statistical themes and insight is gained into how naïve statistical thinking begins to develop during the collaborative process. Implications for educators and researchers are considered. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.