Interpolation and extrapolation in Year 5 STEM activities: exploring data about viscosity without advanced statistics

Incorporating an evidence-based approach in STEM education using data collection and analysis strategies when learning about science concepts enhances primary students’ discipline knowledge and cognitive development. This paper reports on learning activities that use the nature of viscosity and the power of informal statistical inference to build students’ conceptual understanding of interpolation and extrapolation without imposing on them the demands of understanding the nonlinear mathematics used to explore the concepts at the tertiary level. An exploratory research strategy was adopted to investigate the way in which Year 5 students created and analysed graphical representations from data collected when performing viscosity experiments. The data representations produced by the students and their subsequent predictions were analysed using the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) model as adapted specifically for graphical representations. The results illustrate that when provided with appropriate technological tools to scaffold student learning, in this case TinkerPlots™, development of students’ appreciation of interpolation and extrapolation within meaningful data contexts across the STEM curriculum does not have to wait until the tertiary level.