期刊名称：International Journal for Mathematics Teaching and Learning
电子版ISSN：1473-0111
出版年度：2001
出版社：Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching
摘要：Many studies have shown that certain concepts in statistics lend themselves tofallacies, and that students often tend to rely more on fuzzy ideas rather than onmathematically rigorous interpretations of these concepts. This study investigateswhether anomalous information causes an increase in questions generated by collegestudents while they solve statistics word problems. 40 science undergraduates arepresented with different versions of each of 10 statistics problems: (a) original, (b)deletion of critical information, (c) addition of contradictory information, (d) addition ofsalient irrelevancies, and (e) addition of subtle irrelevancies. Results show that most ofthe transformed versions trigger more questions than the original (p < 0.01), with thedeletion versions triggering more questions than do others. The role of rewording wordproblems is discussed in light of these findings, and cognitive models (such as theobstacle hypothesis) are used to explain pertinent differences. Implications of thesefindings for pedagogy are discussed, and recommendations for research conclude thepaper.
