WORKING STYLES AND OBSTACLES: COMPUTER-SUPPORTED COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN STATISTICS

INTRODUCTION We have been designing and evaluating several experimental courses in probability and statistics at high school level (Biehler, 2003). Our students use the software Fathom as a tool and teacher-prepared Fathom worksheets as part of their learning environments. The courses emphasize Exploratory Data Analysis, simulation and modeling and simulation – supported inference statistics. We are interested in observing the micro-processes in front of the computer. We pick out a couple of pairs in a course and record their collaborative work. A screen recording software with a microphone is used for capturing human-human and human-machine interactions. Our research interest focuses on how the tool fosters or hinders statistical problem solving, what mental models students construct about the software tool and which styles of use are emerging. We are interested in obstacles and breakdown points where the students have to extend and adapt their mental models. The obstacles may be related to the statistical content, the software or the interface between both.