Stochastik
in der Schule
| | ||
Stochastik |
|
Band 21 (2001) |
| IASE - International Association for Statistical Education | ||
http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/
Statistics is now recognised as a crucial part of the education of students in many disciplines and is used by an ever increasing number of people in the workplace. In fact it has been said that statistics is studied by more students at post-secondary level than any other topic. Hence there are a very large number of people involved in teaching statistics and it is more important than ever that it is taught well and enthusiastically. In addition, in the past decade statistics has gained recognition as an important component of the school curriculum. Recommendations were made to introduce stochastic concepts for all students, throughout the school years, beginning at an early stage. This led to the production of new instructional materials for elementary and secondary schools in many countries and to an increasing interest in studies of teaching and learning.
The International Association for Statistical Education, IASE, a section of the International Statistical Institute, ISI, aims to help those involved with this task as it seeks to advance statistical education at all levels, from primary school through training of professionals on a world-wide basis. Modern methods, including advances in technology, can greatly assist us in getting statistical concepts and ways of thinking statistically to an audience with a wide range of professional interests and abilities. By working together as part of an international community of statistical educators, we can become better informed and better prepared for future challenges.
The Association places a strong emphasis on international co-operation and the exchange of information via its publications and meetings and provides people with the opportunity of being part of an international community which is interested in statistical education. The IASE provides the opportunity for its members to attend international meetings on statistical education on an annual basis. These occur through a series of conferences which are now organised or sponsored by the IASE, and are held in venues that are as widely dispersed as possible so that they will be accessible to delegates from many different geographical locations.
The major events the IASE organises are the International Conferences on Teaching Statistics, ICOTS, which are held every fourth year and cover all aspects of statistical education. The next, ICOTS-6, is being held in Durban, South Africa in July 2002. Another major event is the Round Table Conference, held every four years, which concentrates in a particular research topic. IASE meetings are also held within the ISI Biennial Sessions and it is again organising the statistical sessions at the International Conference on Mathematical Education, ICME, held every four years. It also runs satellite meetings associated with both the ISI and ICME meetings. Furthermore, there is a growing interest and involvement of IASE members in new initiatives such as the International Research Forum Statistical Reasoning, Thinking, and Literacy, SRTL, and IASE members have a role in the Psychology of Mathematics Education, PME, meetings. In 1999 the PRESTA and IASE jointly organised the Conferencia International Programme de Recherche et d' Enseignement en Statistique Appliquée held in Florianopolis, Brazil which was fully devoted to statistical education. Where possible the IASE is happy to help in other such international ventures. In 1999 the major involvement of the IASE was the invited and contributed paper sessions held at the ISI Biennial Session in Helsinki. Summaries are available in the 1999 IASE Review newsletter found at http://www.swin.edu.au/maths/iase/newsletters.html. It has been heartening to see the growth in the number of ISI sessions on statistics education since the IASE held its first meeting in 1993.
One of the aims of the ISI is to promote the quality of statistics internationally. As developing countries are in the greatest need for such improvement, ISI considers it as its duty to provide assistance to statisticians from developing countries in achieving this improvement. For this purpose, the ISI Executive Committee has established the ISI Development Fund, which may assist its members, including those in the IASE, from developing countries to attend conferences. Information about this fund are set out in the web page http://www.cbs.nl/isi/devfundtxt.htm
Promoting research is also one of IASE's most pressing priorities, as a way of extending knowledge about the processes of teaching and learning statistics and of advancing the academic recognition of statistical education as a discipline. The IASE Statistical Education Research Group (IASE SERG) is a special interest group within the IASE, which is open to all with an interest in this area. It publishes the IASE Statistical Education Research Newsletter (IASE SERN) three times a year, which includes short papers of general interest, summaries of research papers, books, and recent dissertations, bibliographies on specific topics, information concerning recent and forthcoming conferences, and Internet resources of interest. The Newsletter is located at the web site: http://www.ugr.es/local/batanero/sergroup.htm
The IASE has a Web site, which provides much information useful for anyone involved with statistical education. As well as providing details of the IASE and the ISI, it provides links to relevant conference sites, statistics teaching resources including sources of data for exercises, information on statistical packages, International Statistical Societies, National Data Archives and discussion lists. The site is regularly updated and you are encouraged to explore it starting at http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/. We appreciate any suggestions to help improve this site so that it becomes the first place statistical educators look to for information.
IASE offers its members the opportunity to become part of the only international community interested in the improvement of statistical education at all levels. Members can both contribute to innovations and progress in statistical education and learn from colleagues. Members receive various publications free and discount rates on others as well as discount rates at IASE meetings. If you are not already a member of IASE, you are strongly urged to consider joining IASE. Dues are only US $24.00 per year. Members have found the publications, meetings and contacts formed through IASE membership have been most helpful in their teaching of statistics courses. For further information about the IASE go to the IASE web site at http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/. A copy of the IASE Membership form can be obtained from the web site.
The Second International Research Forum on Statistical Reasoning, Thinking and Literacy, University of New England, Armidale, Australia, August 15 20, 2001. See: http://www.beeri.org.il/srtl/(This link is broken.)
The 53rd Session of the International Statistical Institute, August 22-29, 2001, Seoul, Korea. For the IASE Sessions at ISI-53 see: http://www.swin.edu.au/maths/iase/isi53.html. (Also a pre-conference satellite workshop on statistical literacy is planned.)
The IASE Sixth International Conference on Teaching Statistics, July 7-12, 2002, Durban, South Africa. This is the major international conference in Statistics Education that is held every 4 years. Details can be found at the ICOTS-6 web site at: http://www.swin.edu.au/maths/iase/Post_ICOTS6.html
25th PME conference, 12-17 July, 200 1, Utrecht, The Netherlands: The PME conference will be held at Utrecht University. See: http://www.fi.uu.nl/pme25
The Fifth International Conference of Technology in Mathematics Teaching, August 6 9, 2001, University of Klagenfurt, Austria. For details, see: http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/ictmt5/
International Statistical Institute, 54th Biennial Session, (includes meetings of the Bernoulli Society, the International Association for Statistical Computing, the International Association of Survey Statisticians, the International Association for Official Statistics and the International Association for Statistical Education), to be held in Berlin, Germany, August 10 20, 2003. More information under http://www.isi2003.de
| Stochastik in der Schule 21 (2001) 2, S. 29-30 |