Copyright© 2004 Avaya Inc. All rights reserved

Comments on Draft Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in

Statistics Education (GAISE)

Jim Landwehr

Avaya Labs

August 10, 2004

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My perspective: statistician in industry with longstanding interests in statistical education, especially K-12.

Overall, document emphasizes:

• Statistics as a process to answer questions (not as a big bag of formulas)

• Use of relatively limited set of graphical displays and numerical summaries and algorithms

• Continued use of techniques learned in earlier grades on more sophisticated problems in later grades

• Limited role of probability, focusing on aspects of it that are important for inference

My general reaction: agree entirely with the principal points and most of the details.

3

Discuss connections between statistics and mathematics and computer science in the world today, and how these should impact statistics education.

What about modern Bayesian approach to problems?

• Often computationally intensive, topics of much current research interest.

• What, if any role through introductory college level?

Some related comments on topics not (yet?) addressed in the Guidelines

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• What if anything has changed from Cobb ’92, or is this report mainly further fleshed out now?

• What should we do:

– If K-12 guidelines really were achieved?

– For students getting 4 or 5 on AP Stat Exam?

• What about a multi-week unit in some course focusing on the relationships between statistics, mathematics, and computer science: how they’ve changed over time, and how they’ve affected all three disciplines?

Terminology: statistics, data analysis, quantitative literacy, …

For introductory college level:

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• What are the audiences and how to influence them?

– ASA members who teach intro college

– K-12 teachers

– K-12 administrators

– Non-ASA members who teach intro college

– College math education professors …

• Have a good executive summary, 4-5 pages max, and test it on the desired audiences

• Approval process through ASA and other associations

• Use ASA and other websites.

– Advertising?

Dissemination