An International Journal for Teachers

Contents of 27-2 (Summer 2005)

PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES
Bluebells and Bias, Stitchwort and Statistics  p. 34 Chris du Feu
Infants are not too young to engage in real, useful statistical work. This activity allowed comparisons between distributions of two species of flowers in three different habitats. 

We Can Still Learn About Probability by Rolling Dice and Tossing Coins p. 37 Peter K Dunn
Rolling dice and tossing coins can still be used to teach probability even if students know or think they know) what happens in these experiments. This article considers many simple variations of these experiments which are interesting, potentially enjoyable and challenging. Using these variations can cause students (and teachers) to think again about the statistical issues involved - and learn in the process.

An Upper Bound on Standard Deviation as a Function of Range  p. 42  Peter Petocz
This article disproves a conjecture that the ratio of the maximum standard deviation to the range of a set of data decreases as the number of data points increases. It also provides an alternative and more general approach for  examining the standard deviation as a function of the range.

COMPUTING CORNER
Using Microsoft Office to Generate Individualized Tasks for Students.  p. 45  Neville Hunt 
This article describes how the mailmerge facility within Microsoft Word can be used in conjunction with Microsoft Excel to generate personalized assignments for students at all levels.

Constructivism in the Statistics Classsroom: From Theory to Practice p. 49  Nyaradzo Mvududu 
This article discusses the theory and practice of constructivism and suggests a way to move from the theory into the practice of it.      

Mean and Variance through Factorial Moments p.55  D. S. Broca
This article shows how the use of factorial moments produces a simple, consistent yet elegant approach to finding the mean and variance of standard discrete probability distributions.

Variation as Unalikeability p. 58  Mike Perry & Gary Kader 
This article discusses concepts of variability and suggests a possible alternative measure that appears to support some students' intuition.     

STATISTICAL DIVERSIONS  p 62  Peter Petocz & Eric Sowey 
The regular column in Teaching Statistics to get you thinking. 

BOOK REVIEW
Statistics 1 for AQA by The School Mathematics Project  p 61
Review by Claire Turner

SOFTWARE REVIEW
Minitab 14 p 30
Review by Chris du Feu

 IASE Matters (centrefold)    

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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)