An International Journal for Teachers

What is the Applied Probability Trust p66  Joe Gani
This is the third in a series of short articles briefly describing the organisations that sponsor Teaching Statistics.

Squaring the Circle - statistically speaking p 67 P Glaister
A simple relationship is described which connects Buffon's classical needle problem with related problems using circles, squares and rectangles.

COMPUTING CORNER
Statistical Nuggets with a Graphics Calculator p 70  Alan Graham
The first of two articles exploring the use of the graphics calculator.

Young Students' Informal Statistical Knowledge p 74 Ian J Putt, Graham A Jones, Carol A Thornton, Cynthia W Langrell, Edward S Mooney & Bob Perry
This article reports some results of an informal study of very young children's reactions to some visual displays of data.

CLASSROOM NOTES
The Birthday Problem Revisited p. 78  Jonny Griffiths
This article shows how simulations can be used to teach sampling distributions to entry level statistics students.

PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES
Having a Ball with Confidence Intervals p. 81 James F Robison-Cox
Confidence intervals are often misinterpreted. This article describes an activity which helps students understand what it means to have confidence in a process.

On Approximate Calculations p. 84  Flavia Jolliffe
The ability to undertake approximate calculations and to get a "rough feel" for data is an important skill which must not be overlooked.

An Aid to Intuitively Understanding Bias and Consistency p. 88 Neil H Spencer
Students often find the concepts of bias and consistency hard to understand intuitively. This article presents means of demonstrating these concepts using a computer so that the students, once they have seen them in action, can more readily grasp their meanings and implications.

Directional Data p. 90 Gerald W Goodall
This article displays some very counter-intuitive problems of "averages" and shows one area of statistics in which vector methods play a natural role.

BOOK REVIEWS
Revealing Statistical Principles by  J K Lindsey p.92
Reviewed by Mary Rouncefield

 IASE Matters (centre fold)

Return to top of page

Please email: alison.davies2@ntu.ac.uk with any comments or corrections.

© The Teaching Statistics Trust 2006. The Teaching Statistics Trust is a registered charity.
ISSN 0141-982X (Print) ISSN 1467-9639 (Online)