Learning From a Statistics Text: An Investigation of Students’ Reading Strategies

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Adult Learners in Higher Education (Table 2)

Abstract

Prior research has examined statistics learning within classroom settings, but few studies have investigated how students learn statistical knowledge from text. In the present study, we examined how graduate students (n = 8) with experience in statistics read a statistics text. We used a think-aloud methodology to assess participants' strategy use. The results indicated that participants frequently used domain-specific strategies (e.g., decoding notations, interpreting visualizations, applying statistical knowledge) and general strategies (e.g., bridging inferences, paraphrasing) during reading. Additionally, they often interpreted visualizations and paraphrased concurrently with other strategies. Participants with varying levels of prior knowledge used these strategies differently. This study provides a detailed account of the domain-specific and general strategies experienced readers used to read a statistics text.

Authors

• Bailing Lyu, University of Utah

• Matthew T. McCrudden, Pennsylvania State University