Research Commentary: Working at the Boundaries of Mathematics Education and Statistics Education Communities of Practice

Abstract

Statistics education has begun to mature as a discipline distinct from mathematics education, creating new perspectives on the teaching and learning of statistics. This commentary emphasizes the importance of coordinating perspectives from statistics education and mathematics education through boundary interactions between the two communities of practice. I argue that such interactions are particularly vital in shared problem spaces related to the teaching and learning of measurement, variability, and contextualized problems. Collaborative work within these shared problem spaces can contribute to the vitality of each discipline. Neglect of the shared problem spaces may contribute to insularity and have negative consequences for research and school curricula. Challenges of working at the boundaries are considered, and strategies for overcoming the challenges are proposed.

Bridging psychology and mathematics education: Reflections on boundary crossing

“…Scholars who cross boundaries may feel like outsiders or may feel at the fringes in many settings. For these reasons, it may be beneficial to cultivate relationships with other "boundary crossers", in order to form a community of individuals facing similar challenges who can support and help one another (Groth, 2015).…”

Introducing Statistical Inference: Design and Evaluation of a Learning Trajectory

“…Statistics education has matured into a discipline distinct from mathematics education, with its own perspectives on teaching and learning (Groth, 2015). Although statistics education has its own character, in many countries it is part of the secondary mathematics curriculum, including in the Netherlands.…”

“…Although statistics education has its own character, in many countries it is part of the secondary mathematics curriculum, including in the Netherlands. Coordinating perspectives from statistics and mathematics through boundary interactions between the two can strengthen both areas of education (Groth, 2015). Given the landscape of strategies for connecting theoretical perspectives (Prediger, Bikner-Ahsbahs, & Arzarello, 2008), this research contributes by locally integrating mathematical ideas into statistics education research, that is, Realistic Mathematics Education theory and the perspective of Instrumental Genesis.…”

“…The use of digital tools is a shared problem space (Groth, 2015) between mathematics and statistics education. It is known from research in mathematics education that once digital tools are used during the learning process, the development of conceptual understanding becomes intertwined with the emergence of techniques for using the digital tool.…”

“…When integrating perspectives from two educational areas, insights into both areas can be strengthened. Networking theories is especially urgent for mathematics and statistics education, where there are several shared problem spaces (Groth, 2015). On top of that, in educational practice, mathematics and statistics lessons are often taught by the same mathematics teacher, for whom integrating knowledge from both areas can be beneficial.…”