A Study on the Growth of Informal Statistical Inferential Abilities of Individuals and Groups in the Statistical Learning Process of Primary School Students

This study investigates the growth of informal statistical inferential abilities of individuals and groups during the statistical learning process in primary school students. To achieve this, we collected data from discussions of fifth- and sixth-grade students engaged in informal statistical inference. Moreover, we networked the inferentialist approach to assess individuals‘ informal statistical inferential abilities with the DCA approach to evaluate informal statistical inferential ability within the classroom community. The analysis revealed that primary school students articulated commitments about representative value, global perspective, density, and spread while engaging in informal statistical inference using hat plots. It also revealed normative ways of reasoning within the classroom community related to informal statistical inference and that individual and group growth influence each other. Based on these findings, we discuss the implications for the teaching and learning informal statistical inference among primary school students.