High school students' understanding of sampling variability: Implications for research

Concern about students' difficuluities in statistical reasoning led to a study which explored year 11 (14 to 16 year-olds) students' ideas in this area. The study focussed on sampling variability, probability, descriptive statistics and graphical representations.This paper presents and discusses the ways in which students made sense of sampling variability constructs obtained from the individual interviews. The findings revealed that many of the students used strategies based on beliefs, prior experiences and intuitive strategies.While students showed competence with probability, descritptive statistics and graphical representations tasks, they were less competent on tasks involving sampling variability. This could be due to instructional neglect of this concept or linguistic problems.The paper concludes by suggesting some implications for further reseach.

The voices of children in health education

One of the main objectives in health education in the New Zealand national curriculum is that students should be helped to take responisbility for their own health. However, most decisions about health programmes in primary schools are made by adults.This paper reports findings from a study which sought the views of primary children about their knowledge of helath and their preference for health educaiton content.Children knew more than adults probably realised, but had little say in what they studied. Older primary children knew about controversial topics like drugs and sexuality.However, there were many gaps in their knowledge and they wanted to cover these in health lessons.There are, therefore, implication for school health programmes

"Schools have an obligation to the profession to induct beginning teachers": A narrative of a school with multiple beginning teachers on the staff

Why is it that some New Zealand primary schools invite and welcome beginning teachers, known as Provisionally Registered Teachers (PRTs), to be part of their staff.A narrative is presented here of one New Zealand primary school that employs several beginning teachers at a time.Information was generated from interviews with 1) the senior mangagement team; 2) Provissionally Registered Teachers (PRTs) on the staff; and 3) a recently-registered former PRT still teaching in the school. The information generated from the interviews was analysed for the reasons why such a proactive PRT employment stance is maintained and how the school goes about the process of induction for these beginning teachers. The analysis suggests the management team's stance comes from a sincere belief that schools have an obligation to the profession to help induct beginning teachers. It also shows that this school strives to ensure its induction process is educative in nature (challenging the ideas and practices of its PRTs) as well well as insturmental (providing support, advice and guidance on how to deliver the curriculum and meet registration requirements).Best-evidence (Ministy of Education. 2004) suggest the induction process can be more effective if such a two-fold approach is used. The narrative illustrates the importance of the attitudes and actions of the management team in establishing and maintaining this two-fold approach.