Improving teachers’ professional statistical literacy

Abstract

Given the deluge of data that school principals and teachers receive as a result of student assessment, it has become essential for them to have statistical literacy skills and understanding. Earlier work with primary and secondary teachers in Victoria revealed that, although most saw school statistical reports as valuable for planning and thought that they could adequately interpret them, their confidence was often not well founded, with some fundamental misconceptions evident in their statistical understanding. Based on these results, a workshop was developed to target key aspects of statistical literacy particularly relevant to the education context. The workshop incorporated simple hands..