An Investigation of a Pre-service Secondary Mathematics Teacher’s Conceptual Understanding of Statistical Content and Analysis

Vivian R. Moody^1, and Liesel Gardner²

¹Department of Mathematics, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, United States

²Department of Mathematics (Teacher Prep Program), Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, United States

Cite this paper:
Vivian R. Moody and Liesel Gardner. An Investigation of a Pre-service Secondary Mathematics Teacher’s Conceptual Understanding of Statistical Content and Analysis. American Journal of Educational Research. 2014; 2(8):617-623. doi: 10.12691/education-2-8-10

Abstract

As part of the requirements for teaching certification, secondary mathematics pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher preparation program at an American university in the southeastern United States participate in a capstone mathematics course that focuses on conducting research on some topic of interest. This paper is an investigation of one pre-service teacher’s challenge to complete this requirement by designing and implementing a research project that required statistical examination and analysis. Findings show that although the pre-service teacher was mathematically able and possessed a depth and breadth of knowledge in mathematics, she struggled with using appropriate statistical methods to carry out the research project. These findings suggest that mathematics teacher education programs need to be intentional about creating opportunities for pre-service teachers to engage in statistical inquiry.

Keywords:
mathematics teacher preparation statistics multiple regression pearson product-moment correlation teacher knowledge

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