Longitudinal change for teachers and students in relation to professional learning in statistics education

Project Summary:

This project heeds calls from the DEST Review of Teaching and Teacher Education for extended professional learning in relation to science and mathematics education and technological capability, and related calls for evidence-based evaluation of outcomes. Focusing on statistics education, the industry collaborators and university researchers will provide a unique combination of Australian Bureau of Statistics Census At School data sets, state-of-the-art educational software, professional expertise, and background on student learning as a basis for the professional learning. Evidence of longitudinal teacher and student change will be collected through repeated administration of teacher profiles, case studies and student surveys.

National/Community Benefit:

There is a growing need in Australia's information society for statistically literate citizens, and for more young people to choose to continue their study of statistics past school. The evidence-based research outcomes for both teachers and students in this study, based on an innovative professional learning program catering for individual requirements of teachers, will provide a model for industries and education systems to follow in reaching these goals. Further, each of the three collaborating industries will participate in research-based investigations into the benefits of its contributions to enhancing teacher and student outcomes in relation to statistics at the school level.