Examination of Eighth Grade Students’ Statistical Reasoning Skills Regarding Pie Chart

Abstract

The aim of the study is to examine in depth the eighth grade students’ levels of statistical reasoning on the data displayed by pie chart by using “The Middle School Student Statistical Thinking Model”. The study used the case study design, which is a qualitative research method. The study group consists of three eight-grade students attending a public school in İstanbul, Turkey. The activities developed by the researchers, the clinical interviews based on activities and the researcher notes were used as the data collection tools. According to the findings obtained; in the process of describing data, the statistical reasoning levels of the students differed significantly according to their academic achievement levels. In addition, the sub-process with the lowest reasoning levels of the students is to determine the effectiveness of data display types that representing data. It was determined that the most significant differentiation between the reasoning levels of the students is in the process of analyzing and interpreting data. Students mostly had difficulties in the sub-process of making inferences about a data display. In line with the finding of the study, recommendations for future studies were presented.