Lexical ambiguities in statistics declared by in training and in-service teachers

Francisco Rodríguez-Alveal; Ana C. Maldonado-Fuentes; Danilo Díaz-Levicoy

doi:10.29333/ejmste/14359

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Francisco Rodríguez-Alveal ¹ ^* , Ana C. Maldonado-Fuentes ¹ , Danilo Díaz-Levicoy ²

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¹ Universidad del Bío-Bío, Chillán, CHILE² Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, CHILE^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This article aims to evaluate how teachers, in training and in-service, define the concepts of randomness, probability, chance and variability, fundamental terms in the teaching of statistics. To this end, a printed recording protocol of natural semantic networks was applied to 16 teachers in training and 58 in-service teachers, selected through non-probabilistic sampling. The results provide evidence that the concept with the lowest conceptual density in both groups is variability. Likewise, a greater presence of similar words was observed between randomness, chance and probability, despite being different concepts. Another finding is the association of the inducing concepts to words that are used within the basic lexicon in Chilean Spanish, whose dictionary is not specialized in statistics. It is concluded about the scarce use of technical language by the participants, which would eventually affect the teaching of statistics.

Keywords

terminology
statistical literacy
lexical ambiguities
natural semantic networks
teachers in training
in-service teachers

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 20, Issue 4, April 2024, Article No: em2422

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/14359

Publication date: 01 Apr 2024

Online publication date: 14 Mar 2024

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APA

Rodríguez-Alveal, F., Maldonado-Fuentes, A. C., & Díaz-Levicoy, D. (2024). Lexical ambiguities in statistics declared by in training and in-service teachers. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 20(4), em2422. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/14359

Vancouver

Rodríguez-Alveal F, Maldonado-Fuentes AC, Díaz-Levicoy D. Lexical ambiguities in statistics declared by in training and in-service teachers. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2024;20(4):em2422. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/14359

AMA

Rodríguez-Alveal F, Maldonado-Fuentes AC, Díaz-Levicoy D. Lexical ambiguities in statistics declared by in training and in-service teachers. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2024;20(4), em2422. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/14359

Chicago

Rodríguez-Alveal, Francisco, Ana C. Maldonado-Fuentes, and Danilo Díaz-Levicoy. "Lexical ambiguities in statistics declared by in training and in-service teachers". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2024 20 no. 4 (2024): em2422. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/14359

Harvard

Rodríguez-Alveal, F., Maldonado-Fuentes, A. C., and Díaz-Levicoy, D. (2024). Lexical ambiguities in statistics declared by in training and in-service teachers. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 20(4), em2422. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/14359

MLA

Rodríguez-Alveal, Francisco et al. "Lexical ambiguities in statistics declared by in training and in-service teachers". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 20, no. 4, 2024, em2422. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/14359