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Makale Özeti:
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This paper analyses introductory statistics students’ verbal and gestural expressions as they interacted with a
dynamic sketch (DS) designed using Sketchpad software. The DS involved numeric data points built on the
number line whose values changed as the points were dragged along the number line. The study is framed on
aggregate reasoning with quantitative data, but it also draws on the Vygotskian social cultural and historical
perspective of learning, particularly, how cultural artefacts including language support learning. Three concepts,
namely, data distribution, the mean and standard deviation were analyzed in the study. Tasks were designed
such that students first talked about their informal understanding of the three concepts before interacting with
the DS; then they interacted with the DS and discussed the connections among the three concepts as they
dragged the data points along the horizontal axis. Analysis of students’ verbal, gestural and other expressions
suggest firstly, that the dynamic sketch mediated the informal meaning of data variability for them, particularly
the meaning of standard deviation, which most students only recalled through a formula. Secondly, the
interactions with the DS drew students’ attention away from focusing on formulas and calculations which was
clearly evident in their statements before the DS was introduced, to investigating the connections among
concepts. These findings support previous studies that have proposed that the use of dynamic computing tools
strongly support students’ informal understanding of abstract concepts. Implications for teaching and learning
introductory statistics concepts at the tertiary level are discussed.
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