Students’ difficulties at the secondary-tertiary transition: the case of random variables
Résumé
The work presented here concerns the teaching and learning of random variables at the secondary-tertiary transition. Our study takes place in France, where discrete random variables are studied in grade 11 and in the first post-secondary year. Comparing textbooks, we observe that random variables are introduced as tools for the modelling of random situations at grade 11, while they are presented theoretically at the post-secondary level. The answers of first year students to a test confirm this difference: they are able to use random variables to produce interpretations in a concrete situation, but are not prepared for the learning of theoretical definitions. These results can contribute to design a teaching intervention concerning probabilities for first year students.
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
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