ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’
COMPREHENSION OF DATA DISPLAYS

TIMOTHY JACCOBE

University of Florida

jacobbe@coe.ufl.edu

ROBERT M. HORTON

Clemson University

bhorton@clemson.edu

ABSTRACT

This study investigated elementary school teachers’ comprehension of data displays. Assessment, interview, and observation data were analyzed to determine their level of comprehension. Results revealed that the teachers were proficient at “reading the data” and computation types of “reading between the data” questions, but were unsuccessful with questions that assessed higher levels of graphical comprehension. Many of the difficulties exhibited by the teachers appear to be attributable to a lack of exposure to the content. Implications for teacher preparation, professional development, and curricula development are discussed.

Keywords: Statistics education research; Content knowledge; Graphical displays; Teacher preparation

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Statistics Education Research Journal, 9(1), 27-45, http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/serj

Ó International Association for Statistical Education (IASE/ISI), May, 2010

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Timothy Jacobbe

School of Teaching and Learning

PO Box 117048

2403 Norman Hall

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL 32611