ABSTRACT
When compared to other mathematical topics, statistics is rather new in the mathematics curriculum. Recent activity has been directed toward identifying what and when to teach statistical content as well as to how to teach and assess statistical understanding of such materials. In view of the junior status of statistics in the mathematics classroom, this chapter provides only a sketch of what statistical teaching and learning can look like in adolescents, along with some pastels for creating a classroom that can promote such understanding. One purpose in providing this sketch of statistical understanding is to foster better instruction and to stimulate further research in this area. The Authentic Statistics Project (ASP), described next, is an example of how statistical understanding can be fostered in classrooms. All classroom examples are taken from one Grade 8 classroom that implemented ASP. These descriptions are followed by a more detailed look at how Carpenter and Lehrer’s (chapter 2, this volume) dimensions of understanding are supported in ASP.
