Binary logistic regression is one of the most widely used statistical tools. The method uses odds, log odds, and odds ratios, which are difficult to understand and interpret. Understanding of logistic regression tends to fall down in one of three ways: (1) Many students and researchers come to believe that an odds ratio translates directly into…

This study investigates a range of non-normative ideas that pre-service teachers (PSTs) employ in reasoning about sampling variability. This issue was studied in the context of a content course on statistics and probability for pre-service middle grade teachers at a Midwestern American university. Analysis of seven PSTs' video and screen records…

Pearson's product-moment correlation can be explained by means of the probability of concordant pairs of observations on two continuous variables (ie, the order of the observations from two randomly selected individuals is the same between the two variables). The probability of concordant pairs features relatively easy computation and offers an…

The "Borel" board game consists of a series of experiments involving dice rolls, coin flips, or drawing colored balls from bags. Before each experiment is conducted, each player bets for or bets against a statement regarding the random outcome. We suggest that the collection of "Borel" experiments be used as a resource to…

A formula is derived for a 'two-dice horse race', in which two ordinary dice are thrown repeatedly and each time the sum of the scores determines which horse (numbered 2 to 12) moves forward one space. This paper answers a question posed in a former "Teaching Statistics" article, and demonstrates the value of simulation.

There is much debate about the place of probability in an introductory statistics course. While students may or may not use probability distributions in their post-collegiate lives, they will likely be faced with day-to-day decisions that require a probabilistic assessment of risk and reward. This paper describes an innovative way to teach…

We describe how we used puppets as tools to draw 9 to 10-year-old students into conversations about probability. Puppets supported classroom discourse by putting forth probabilistic arguments for critique, introducing extreme and unusual examples of concepts, and introducing an element of surprise.

Stochastic independence is not an easy notion. Because it is part of the probability structure, it can have some surprising non-properties, which is beneficial for teachers and students to see illustrated. Neither is the relationship to causal independence an easy one.

The transition from the probability mass function for discrete random variables to the probability density function for continuous random variables is not straightforward, especially to students from the health and social sciences. An R Shiny application was created to assist the learning process of probability density function.

Probability and chance are essential concepts, not just in statistics but in real life. We present an adaptable activity which investigates what we mean by bias, how we can identify bias, and how we can use it to our advantage!

Undergraduate students tend to struggle with probability in their introductory statistics course. Probability problem solving requires several steps. First, students must make sense of the probability scenario, then determine the appropriate probability rules, and finally, execute the procedures to solve the problem. With no previous exposure to…

The aim of this paper is to approach the teaching of the Poisson distribution in a friendly and amusing way. It constitutes a common practice to adopt the main probability distributions in order to predict results of sport events and to estimate the win return of betting activities (Chalikias 2009). In particular, by using the Poisson…

Using the famous Birthday problem, we present here a practical activity that allows students to perceive the basic reasoning behind simulation and explore its potential. Through a playful approach with probabilities, students are led along a path that illustrates difficulties with intuition and introduces them to theoretical results for sample…

We present a variant of the Game of Pig to introduce the concepts of probability, simulation and expected value.

In an informal study, two versions of a story involving probability are introduced to undergraduates. The findings reveal that students have troubles detecting equal probabilities in a sampling scheme without replacement in which no information on earlier draws is available.