Developing a Mobile Application to Improve the Levels of Statistical Literacy among Graduate Students

Enes Abdurrahman Bilgin

Abstract


In today’s world, educated individuals are expected to understand basic statistical concepts and interpret statistical messages. For this reason, despite the undeniable importance of statistical literacy in the educational process, studies on undergraduate and postgraduate students in practice reveal that students have difficulties in determining the data structure, choosing the appropriate test for the purpose, and interpreting the findings correctly. Similar studies indicate that steps should be taken in many ways to overcome such difficulties. When the respective literature is viewed, it is understood that the use of software packages in teaching has many disadvantages such as being complex, being expensive and not being compatible with mobile devices, therefore, tech-supported teaching materials suitable for the level of students, in other words, instructional software is needed. Hence, it was aimed in this study to design a mobile teaching software for the development of advanced statistical literacy skills, which are often needed in the scientific research process. For this purpose, the first type of development method, which is one of the quantitative research methods, was preferred in the research. At the end of the research process, a free mobile teaching software program was developed that can be used in the teaching of statistical concepts at the postgraduate level and can perform statistical analysis. The alternatives offered by the application developed as a result of the research in response to the needs in the literature were examined. Additionally, the application was published via Google Play Store and was made available for users for a period of one year to receive evaluations, and at the end of this period, it was downloaded by users from dozens of various countries. It has been observed that the application, which has been downloaded approximately 40 thousand times in the last six months and reached 16 thousand users, received 84.6% positive scores (4.23). It is estimated that the application, which was developed as a result of the process, will contribute to the literature in terms of statistical literacy.

Keywords


Statistical Literacy, Teaching Software, Designing and Developing

Full Text:

PDF

References


Akkoc, H. & Yesildere-Imre, S. (2015). Teaching Probability And Statistics Based on Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Pegem Akademi Publishing.

Akkoc, H., & Selcuk, A. S. (2017). Examination of 9th-grade students’ informal statistical inferences with regard to measures of central tendency and variability. Marmara University Journal of Educational Sciences, 45, 1-21.

Akkoyunlu, B. (2005). Instructional Software: New Technologies in Contemporary Education. Anadolu University Publishing.

Akkus, Z., Sanisoglu, S. Y., Akyol, M., & Celik, M. Y. (2006). Statistical Approach According to Structure of Variables. Dicle Medical Journal 33(2), 101-104.

Allen, R., Folkhard, A., Abram, B. & Lancaster, G. (2010). Statistics for the biological and environmental sciences: improving service teaching for postgraduates.

In ICOTS8. Ljubljana: International Statistical Institute.Retrieved from http://icots.info/8/cd/pdfs/invited/ICOTS8_7E3_ALLEN.pdf

Avcı, E. & Coskuntuncel, O. (2019). Middle school teachers’ opinions about using Vustat and Tinkerplots in the data processing in middle school mathematics. Pegem Journal of Education and Instruction, 9(1), 01-36.

Bakker, A. (2004). Design research in statistics education: On symbolizing and computer tools (Doctoral dissertation). Utrecht University,Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht.

Batanero, C., Burrill, G. & Reading, C. (2011). Teaching statistics in school mathematics challenges for teaching and teacher education: A Joint ICMI/IASE study: the 18th ICMI study (Vol.14): Springer Science & Business Media.

Ben-Zvi, D. & Garfield, J. (2004). The challenge of developing statistical literacy, reasoning and thinking. Kluwer academic publishers.

Ben-Zvi, D. (2000). Toward understanding the role of technological tools in statistical learning. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 2(1-2), 127-155.

Bilgin, E. A. (2018). The Effect of Developed Instructional Software for Teaching Statistics on Academic Achievement. Van Yuzuncu Yil University Journal of Education, 15(1), 1212-1231.

Buyukozturk, S., Cakmak, E. K., Akgun, O. E., Karadeniz, S. & Demirel, F. (2018). Scientific research methods. Pegem Akademi Publishing.

Cakmak, Z. T. & Durmus, S. (2015). Determining The Concepts And Subjects in The Area of Learning Statistics and Probability That 6-8th Grade Math Students Have Difficulties. Abant Izzet Baysal University Journal of Education, 15(2), 27-58.

Chance, B., Ben-Zvi, D., Garfield, J. & Medina, E. (2007). The role of technology in improving student learning of statistics. Technology Innovations in Statistics Education Journal 1(1). Working Draft.

Cooper, L. L. (2002). An assessment of prospective secondary mathematics teachers’ preparedness to teach statistics. University of Maryland, College Park.

Cruise, R. J., Cash, R. W., & Bolton, D. L. (1985, August). Development and validation of an instrument to measure statistical anxiety. In American Statistical Association Proceedings of the Section on Statistical Education (Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 92-97).

Dogan, N. (2010). The Effect of Computer -Assisted Statistics Instruction on Achievement and Attitudes toward Statistics. Education and Science, 34(154), 3-16.

Dubinsky, E., & McDonald, M. A. (2001). APOS: A constructivist theory of learning in undergraduate mathematics education research. In The teaching and learning of mathematics at university level (pp. 275-282). Springer, Dordrecht.

Emmungil, L. & Geban, O. (2010). Effect of constructed web-supported instruction on achievement related to educational statistics. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. (9). 1347-1351.

Erdogan, I. (2001), Design and Method Problems of Positivist-Empirical Academic Research in Social Sciences. Anatolia: Journal of Tourism Research, 12, 119-134.

Esmer, E. (2018). A Model in Instructional Design: Dick, Carey, & Carey. Trakya University Journal of Education Faculty, 8(2), 274-284.

Evrekli, E., Inel, D., Denis, H., & Balim, A. G. (2011). Methodological and statistical problems in graduate theses in the field of science education. Elementary Education Online, 10(1), 206 - 218.

Fitzgerald, S. M., Jurs, S. J., & Hudson, L. M. (1996). A model predicting statistics achievement among graduate students. College Student Journal, 30(3), 361–366.

Franklin, C., Kader, G., Mewborn, D., Moreno, J., Peck, R., Perry, M. & Scheaffer, R. (2007). Guidelines for assessment and instruction in statistics education (GAISE) report. Alexandria: American Statistical Association.

GAISE (2005). Guidelines for assessment and instruction in statistics education (GAISE) report. (No. 2006103096). Retrieved from: https://www.amstat.org/asa/files/pdfs/GAISE/GAISEPreK-12_Full.pdf

Gal, I. & Garfield, J. (1997). The assessment challenge in statistics education (Vol. 12): IOS press.

Gal, I. (2002). Adults’ statistical literacy: Meanings, components, responsibilities. International statistical review, 70(1), 1-25.

Garfield, J. & Ben-Zvi, D. (2008). Developing students’ statistical reasoning: Connecting research and teaching practice. Springer Science & Business Media

Garfield, J. & Gal, I. (1999). Assessment and statistics education: Current challenges and directions. International statistical review, 67(1), 1-12.

Garfield, J. (1994). Beyond testing and grading: Using assessment to improve student learning. Journal of Statistics Education, 2(1), 1-11.

Garfield, J. (1995). How students learn statistics. International Statistical Review, 25-34.

Garfield, J. (2002). The challenge of developing statistical reasoning. Journal of Statistics Education, 10(3), doi: 10691898.2002.11910676.

Habibzadeh, F. (2013). Common statistical mistakes in manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. European Science Editing, 39(4), 92-94.

Holton, D. & Artigue, M. (2001). The teaching and learning of mathematics at university level: An ICMI study. Springer Science & Business Media.

Kabaca, T. & Erdogan, Y. (2007). Examining Of Statistical Properties of the Thesis Studies in the Fields of Science, Computer and Mathematics Education. Pamukkale University Journal of Education, 2(22), 54-64.

Karaarslan, E., Boz, B. & Yıldırım, K. (2013, December). Technology-based approaches in mathematics and geometry education. Paper presented at the XVIII. Internet Conference in Turkey, Istanbul.

Kaynar, Y., & Halat, E. (2012). Primary Education II. Examination of the “statistics” dimension of the “probability and statistics” sub-learning domain of the secondary school mathematics curriculum. X. National Science and Mathematics Education Congress.

Kim, Y., & Lee, J. L. (2019). Common mistakes in statistical and methodological practices of sport management research. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 23(4), 314-324.

Koparan, T. (2012). The effect of project based learning approach on the statistical literacy levels and attitude towards statistics of student (Doctoral Dissertation). Obtained from the National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education. (Thesis No: 344459).

Koparan, T. (2015). Difficulties in learning and teaching statistics: Teacher views. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 46(1), 94-104.

Koparan, T., & Akıncı, M. (2015). New Approaches on Statistical Teaching. Journal of Research in Education and Teaching, 4(2), 36-45.

Koparan, T., & Guven, B. (2013). A Study on the Differentiation Levels of Middle School Students’Statistical Thinking. Elementary Education Online, 12(1),

-178.

Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2009). Will mobile learning change language learning?. ReCALL, 21(2), 157-165.

Kul, S. (2014). Guideline for suitable statistical test selection. Plevra Bulletin, 8(2), 26.

Lee, L., Ng, G., Tan, K., Shaharuddin, S., & Wan-Busrah, S. (2018). Integrating ınteractive multimedia objects in mobile augmented reality for Sarawak tourism. Advanced Science Letters, 24(2), 1017-1021.

McClain, D. H. (1970). Development of a computer-assisted instruction unit in probability. Iowa State University

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). (2000). Curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics. Reston: NCTM.

O’Malley, C., Vavoula, G., Glew, J., Taylor, J., Sharples, M., Lefrere, P., & Waycott, J. (2005). Guidelines for learning/teaching/tutoring in a mobile environment. (Research Report No. 04.1). Retrieved from https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00696244/document

Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (1997). Writing a research proposal: The role of library anxiety, statistics anxiety, and composition anxiety. Library & Information Science Research, 19(1), 5-33.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Academic procrastination and statistics anxiety. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 29(1), 3-19.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Seaman, M. A. (1995). The effect of time constraints and statistics test anxiety on test performance in a statistics course. The Journal of experimental education, 63(2), 115-124.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Da Ros, D., & Ryan, J. M. (1997). The Components of Statistics Anxiety: A Phenomenological Study. Focus on Learning Problems in mathematics, 19(4), 11-35.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Slate, J. R., Paterson, F. R., Watson, M. H., & Schwartz, R. A. (2000). Factors associated with achievement in educational research courses. Research in the Schools, 7(1), 53-65.

Ozmen, Z. M., & Baki, A. (2017). Evaluating the Practices of Instructors Teaching Statistics Courses from Different Undergraduate Programs in Terms of Statistical Literacy. Education and Science, 42(191).

Richey, R. C. & Klein, J. D. (2014). Design and development research: Methods, strategies, and issues. New York: Routledge.

Richey, R. C., & Klein, J. D. (2008). Research on design and development. In M. Spector (Ed.). Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (3nd ed., pp. 748-757). Routledge.

Schuyten, G., Dekeyser, H. & Goeminne, K. (1999). Towards an electronic independent learning environment for statistics in higher education. Education and Information Technologies, 4(4), 409-424.

Simsek, A., Ozdamar, N., Uysal, O., Kobak, K., Berk, C., Kilicer, T., & Cigdem, H. (2009). Current Trends in Educational Technology Research in Turkey in the New Millennium. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 9(2), 961-966.

Tishkovskaya, S. & Lancaster, G. A. (2012). Statistical education in the 21st century: A review of challenges, teaching innovations and strategies for reform. Journal of Statistics Education, 20(2), doi: 10691898.2012.11889641

Toy, B. Y., & Tosunoglu, N. G. (2007). Scientific research process, statistical techniques and mistakes made in research in the field of social sciences. Journal of Gazi University Faculty of Commerce and Tourism Education, 1(1), 1-20.

Watson, J. & Moritz, J. (2000). The longitudinal development of understanding of average. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 2(1-2), 11-50.

Williams, A. S. (2010). Statistics anxiety and instructor immediacy. Journal of Statistics Education, 18(2).

Yenilmez, I. (2016). Investigation of Teaching Statistical Concepts with Technology from the Perspective of Mathematics Didactics. (Master’s Thesis). Obtained from the National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education. (Thesis No: 435381).

Zawojewski, J. S. & Heckman, D. S. (1997). What do students know about data analysis, statistics, and probability?. Results from the sixth mathematics assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 195-223.

Watson, J. (1997). Assessing statistical literacy through the use of media surveys. In I. Gal & J. Garfield, (Eds.), The assessment challenge in statistics education (107–121). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: International Statistical Institute/IOS Press.Williams, A. S. (2010). Statistics anxiety and instructor immediacy. Journal of Statistics Education, 18(2), 1-18.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.9n.4p.113

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

2013-2024 (CC-BY) Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD.

International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies  

You may require to add the 'aiac.org.au' domain to your e-mail 'safe list’ If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox'. Otherwise, you may check your 'Spam mail' or 'junk mail' folders.