I like the median and have taught it with ease to grade 6.
Robert Frick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Robert Frick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Dennis Roberts wrote:
A precursor to this is the basic idea that they have to have OF average ...
OF center ... w/o that ... they won't have a clue
So, where is it in school ... or home ... that this notion of "average"
first (approximately) takes place?
Dennis Roberts
I was doing an experiment. I had my method of teaching students the concept of
standard deviation, and as a control I taught students the concept of standard
deviation by teaching them the formula and letting them use the formula. I think
with the formula, students (introductory psychology students) would score about
4 of 12 on my test. With my method, they would score 6 or 7. I was using a
one-week delay in testing, and I thought to see what would happen if I tested
their understanding quickly. Obviously, it would simplify the experiment.
And for whatever ! reason, I threw in a control group that wasn't taught anything.
I called it dispersion instead of standard deviation, and I gave a few examples.
They scored about 10 out of 12. So I gave up on my research. What I took from
this is that students enter college with a concept of dispersion. If you teach
standard deviation, it is important not to disconnect it from their concept.
Which is a long way of saying that at the college level, I am pretty sure
students enter your class with the concept of average. As I wrote in another
post, I suspect average (or center) is more primitive than total.
But if I try to test/teach third-graders about average and dispersion this year,
I will tell you how they do.
Bob
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