Enhancing Statistics Education by Including Qualitative Research

Abstract

Summary In this paper, we propose to re‐examine the role of qualitative thinking in the early stages of learning statistics and, where relevant, integrate selected elements of qualitative research methods into statistics curricula. We believe that this can help to improve statistics education, deepen desired student understanding of the role of statistics in providing answers to real‐world problems and address recurring concerns about student motivation. The paper clarifies the logic underlying our proposal, examines existing connections between qualitative and quantitative research during instruction that often go unacknowledged and can be built upon, explores practical implementation issues and discusses advantages as well as limitations of the proposed approach.

Official Statistics and Statistics Education: Bridging the Gap

“…Numerous scholars have debated the sequencing as well as relative importance and weight of some components (Moore and Cobb 2000;Chance and Rossman 2001;Cobb 2007;Malone et al 2012). There are calls to change the balance between conceptual understanding and computations or the use of technology, along with the need to deepen understanding of big ideas in statistics via the use of randomizations or simulations (e.g., Tintle et al 2015), for examining alternative approaches to teaching (Vehkalahti 2016), or for expanding the attention to qualitative ideas in statistics (Ograjenšek and Gal 2016).…”

“…Aggregated data. Statistics about society are often reported not with regard to continuous raw variables per se, but involve data that are grouped in diverse ways, sometimes using qualitative variables (Ograjenšek and Gal 2016). Thus, data may be combined into indicators, or reported for multiple subgroups.…”

Discussion: The Q‐q Dynamic for Deeper Learning and Research

“…Indeed, any reader who tries to locate the precise definitions of these two types of thinking in the article by Ograjenšek and Gal () would be disappointed. A minor dose of qualitative thinking of itself, that is, the impossibility of quantifying qualitative thinking, would help such readers to avoid the subsequent mistake of ignoring OG's key message: qualitative thinking, however seemingly imprecise, is as vital as quantitative thinking for statistical research.…”

Rejoinder: More on Enhancing Statistics Education with Qualitative Ideas

“…Many individual practitioners and educators, as well as some professional groups, have pointed to the need to rethink how and why we do things in the classroom (Aliaga et al , ; Garfield et al , ; American Statistical Association, ). In this context, our paper Enhancing Statistics Education by Including Qualitative Research (Ograjenšek and Gal, ) takes a fresh look at what we teach and how. We thank the four discussants Nick Horton (), Jock MacKay (), Xiao‐Li Meng () and Chris Wild (), who examined the suggestions we made from multiple perspectives, for their valuable comments, insights and ideas.…”