DOING ALL RIGHT? USING APPLETS FOR TRAINING STATISTICS WITH FUTURE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

In recent years, statistics has been recognized as a basic component of citizenship education and its incorporation into school curricula in various countries confirm its learning relevance. Currently, several resources are available online but their uses within classes may vary depending on the use that teacher devises for them, therefore a critical analysis of these tools is needed. With this work, we present and discuss a model for the analysis of statistical applets that might promote training statistics among primary teachers, thus emphasizing their didactical purposes. In the school year of 2013/2014, an applets selection – as statistical teaching tools – was used for training primary teachers and the model was introduced in their classes and as a work to be done. In the first part we will present the model and its details including the analysis of one report from one of the student groups. Next we will analyze the students groups’ use of the model. Finally, since those were students as well as future teachers we refer their statistical difficulties – semiotic conflicts in light of the ontosemiotic approach from Godino and its colleagues – in order to list them to assess students’ approaches to statistics through the use of the applets.