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Activity Number:
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283
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Type:
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Contributed
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Date/Time:
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Tuesday, August 4, 2009 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
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Sponsor:
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Section on Statistical Education
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| Abstract - #304913 |
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Title:
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Students' Perceptions of Variability Across Different Types of Graphs
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Author(s):
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Felice S. Shore*+ and Linda L. Cooper
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Companies:
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Towson University and Towson University
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Address:
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Mathematics Department, Towson, MD, 21252,
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Keywords:
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variability ; graphs ; misconceptions ; histograms ; bar graphs ; timeplots
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Abstract:
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Variability in data is the fundamental concept underlying all of statistical thinking and analysis. Graphs are intended to facilitate understanding by allowing a reader to quickly ascertain various properties of a data set at once. We discuss quantitative and qualitative results from an assessment that asked undergraduates in introductory statistics courses to make visual comparisons of magnitude of variability for several distinct pairs of graphs. The graph types we presented - frequency bar graphs, histograms, time plots, and value bar charts - share the superficial similarity of employing bars, yet the methods by which one must judge center and variability differs dramatically for each type. We also present visual aids for the purpose of helping students recognize variation within the data, and to connect conceptions of variability to at least rudimentary computational measurements.
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