This paper presents a comparative analysis of statistics education research in Malaysia and the Philippines by modes of dissemination, research areas, and trends. An electronic search for published research papers in the area of statistics education from 2000–2012 yielded 20 for Malaysia and 19 for the Philippines. Analysis of these papers showed that most were primarily empirical research published in national refereed journals or in conference proceedings. Statistics education research in Malaysia has focused on integration of technology and on affective aspects of statistics learning. In the Philippines, studies have investigated university-level statistics pedagogy, statistics academic programs and teachers’ professional development. Implications for future statistics education research and teaching practice in these two countries are identified.
First published November 2014 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives
<p><em>A major objective of statistics education is to develop students’ statistical literacy that enables them to be educated users of data in context. Teaching statistics in today’s educational settings is not an easy feat because teachers have a huge task in keeping up with the demands of the new generation of learners. The present day students have higher expectations in terms of classroom pedagogy particularly in the use of creative and engaging methods to create a significant learning experience for them. This paper discusses how students’ statistical literacy can be fostered by creating a more integrated statistics course using the Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning. </em></p>
<p>In using the Rasch model to improve the quality of an instrument, analysis purports to determine if the sample collaborates well with the items in the instrument such that the results are measuring a single underlying variable. The relevant properties of Rasch analysis are reliability and validity which are key indicators of the quality of a measurement instrument. This paper discusses the use of one type of Rasch model that is the Partial Credit Model to investigate reliability and validity of an instrument. By removing or changing items in the instrument when conditions of reliability and validity are not met, the quality of the instrument is improved.</p>
Students’ attitudes towards statistics have been more often negative due to many factors such as initial perception of the subject, low ability in mathematics and lack of motivation to study statistics. Studies involving SATS-36 included investigation of the different factors in relation to students’ attitude towards statistics. Other studies have investigated the structure of SATS-36 and the relationship between the different components of SATS-36. The research investigated the reliability and validity of SATS-36 for a sample of matriculation students. Results showed that while reliability and validity is maintained for the instrument, it is not the case for the sample of respondents.
The current practice of pedagogy and assessment, particularly in the blended learning mode, necessitates learners to be highly motivated and independent in order to be able to take full autonomy of their learning. By using scaffolding techniques, an instructor can identify learning difficulties at different stages of the learning process and take corrective measures to achieve optimal results. This paper discusses the use of scaffolding techniques in a mathematics classroom and investigates students' responsiveness towards this technique by analyzing the students' performance in the final examination. Suggestions are given on how the instructions can be modified to have a better scaffolding in future.
Although there is proliferating literature on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, studies on the impact of socio-economic status (SES) on STEM education are limited in developing countries. Studies on STEM education in Malaysia has largely involved the teaching and learning aspect while there are limited studies in other areas. This study investigates the possible relationships between socio-economic factors and Malaysian students’ academic achievement in STEM subjects. Data was collected from students in the higher learning institutions located in five different regions in Malaysia using a survey questionnaire. Cross-tabulations were made between the construct of SES and students’ academic achievement, and analyses for Chi-Square tests for associations were carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results of this study show that there are statistically significant positive associations between students’ grades in engineering and their fathers’ education, between students’ grades in science and their mothers’ education, and between students’ grades in science and their parents’ combined income. Moreover, there are statistically significant and positive associations between students’ grades in mathematics and parents’ education, occupation and combined income. Future studies can identify the reasons for these associations and how Malaysian students’ declining academic performance in international assessments can be improved by improving STEM education.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.