Seventh grade students' possible solution strategies, errors and misinterpretations regarding the concepts of mean, median and mode given in bar graph representations

Download

index.pdf

Date

2014

Author

Enisoğlu, Didem

Metadata

Show full item record

Item Usage Stats

428
views

359
downloads

The aim of the present study was to investigate the solution strategies used by seventh grade students and their possible errors while solving questions regarding the concepts of mean, median and mode given in bar graph representations. Students’ possible misinterpretation regarding the concepts of mean, median and mode given in bar graph representations was also examined. Partipants were 233 seventh grade students from two public middle schools in Gelibolu district of Çanakkale. Data were collected via Statistics Achievement Questionnaire (SAQ) during 2013-2014 spring semester. To address the research questions, students' possible solution strategies, errors and misinterpretations were identified through item based in-dept analysis. The results of the study indicated that students' used three different solution strategies to solve questions regarding each concept. On the other hand, analysis revealed that students made errors regarding each concept. For the mean concept, identified errors were operational error, finding total number, incorrect usage of averaging algorithm, accepted close values, looking pattern, turned to find smaller or larger numbers, not meeting all requirements of a problem, forming incomplete data set, and incorrect reading of values from graph. Furthermore, for the median concept, identified errors were operational error, wrong decision on unordered data set, wrong decision on ordered data set, wrong interpretation of graph, forming incomplete data set, incorrect reading of values from graph and incorrect largest and/or smallest data values. In addition to these, students' errors in the questions regarding the mode concept were inappropriate usage of averaging algorithm, forming incomplete data set and incorrect largest and/or smallest data values. Besides, students have several misinterpretations regarding the concepts of mean, median and mode.

Subject Keywords

Statistics, Graphic methods, Statistics, Science, Education, Elementary.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12618270/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/24256

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

Middle school students' proportional reasoning in real life contexts in the domain of geometry and measurement Ayan Civak, Rukiye; IŞIKSAL BOSTAN, MİNE (2019-01-01) The purpose of this study was to examine middle school students' proportional reasoning, solution strategies and difficulties in real life contexts in the domain of geometry and measurement. The underlying reasons of the difficulties were investigated as well. Mixed research design was adopted for the aims of the study by collecting data through an achievement test from 935 sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. The achievement test included real life problems that required proportional reasoning, and we...
Middle school students' use of problem-solving steps and their strategies in solving word problems Alkan, C. Sinan; Akyüz, Didem; Department of Elementary Science and Mathematics Education (2019) The aim of the present study was to investigate the middle school students’ use of problem solving steps and their use of the strategies in the process of solution of Problem-Solving questions related to topics of numbers generally. The data was gathered in the fall semester of the 2017-2018 academic year. The study sample included 116 (29 fifth graders, 29 sixth graders, 25 seventh graders, and 33 eighth graders) middle school students in Konya, Turkey. Different Problem Solving Achievement tests were used...
Investigating middle school students’ achievement and strategies in proportional reasoning problems Yılmaz, Gamze Öze; Akyüz, Didem; Department of Elementary Science and Mathematics Education (2019) The aims of the study are to specify the academic achievement of the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students in proportional reasoning problems, to determine how the academic achievement of these students change according to problem types, to examine their solution strategies in these problems, and to reveal how these strategies diversify from fifth to eighth grade. To collect data in order to achieve these aims, a proportional reasoning test were prepared. The study was designed as a mixed study. I...
An Investigation of 7th grade students’ statistical literacy about the concepts of average and variation on bar and line graphs Çatman Aksoy, Emine; Işıksal Bostan, Mine; Department of Elementary Science and Mathematics Education (2018) The aim of the present study was to analyze statistical literacy of seventh grade students on the concepts of “average” and “variation” on bar and line graphs related to the data obtained from social or scientific contexts. More specifically, seventh grade students’ statistical literacy levels in terms of the concepts of “average” and “variation” on bar and line graphs related to the data obtained from social or scientific contexts were determined and how students at different statistical literacy levels de...
Seventh Graders' Statistical Literacy: an Investigation on Bar and Line Graphs Çatman Aksoy, Emine; Işıksal Bostan, Mine (2020-02-10) The aim of the current study was to investigate the statistical literacy of seventh grade students regarding the concepts of average and variation on bar and line graphs presented in alternative real-life contexts. To this end, the statistical literacy levels of the seventh grade students were initially determined. Subsequently, definitions, interpretations and evaluations generated by the students at varying levels of statistical literacy were examined in further depth. More specifically, a qualitative sur...

Citation Formats

D. Enisoğlu, “Seventh grade students’ possible solution strategies, errors and misinterpretations regarding the concepts of mean, median and mode given in bar graph representations,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2014.