What's the chance? : concepts of probability

URL: http://msteacher.org/epubs/math/math6/math.aspx

1007936

Probability offers one of those rare intersections where classroom mathematics crosses middle school experience. The problem scenarios investigated at this level often start with a game as did theoretical probability itself. Students find that many of the phenomena they encounter in game playing have predictable outcomes. To reach that conclusion, they need opportunities to consider data they generate, noting patterns that emerge and comparing their results with those predicted by theory. The activities, lesson plans, and project ideas selected for this publication offer such opportunities, not only in the context of games, since other situations can be analyzed in the light of probability. The selected resources include background information for your own review of the concepts. The final section considers the place of probability in the NCTM Standards.

Summary

Subject keyword(s)	Data analysis, Data collection, Mathematics, Probability, Statistics
Grade level	Middle School, Vocational/Professional Development Education
Intended audience	Educator, Professional/Practitioner
Resource type	Instructional Material
Resource format	image, image/jpeg, text, text/html
Rights	Copyright September 2006 - The Ohio State University.

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Title	Middle School Portal: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2)
Link	http://msteacher2.org/
Description	The Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2) supports middle grades educators with high-quality, standards-based resources and promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing among its users. Educators use MSP2 to increase content knowledge in science, mathematics, and appropriate pedagogy for youth ages 10 to 15. MSP2 employs social networking and digital tools to foster dynamic experiences that promote creation, modification, and sharing of resources, facilitate professional development, and support the integration of technology into practice. MSP2 is a project of the Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology, National Middle School Association, and Education Development Center, Inc., and is funded by the National Science Foundation. The partners integrate resources, tools, and services across projects, and support multiple methods of resource discovery to meet the needs of this audience.
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Home Math Pathway Science Pathway Project Partners Search Entire Site Math Pathway Science Pathway for Table Of Contents What's the Chance? Probability Concepts Introduction Background Information for Teachers Projects Activities for the Classroom Lesson Plans NCTM Standards Latest Version Introduction Probability offers one of those rare intersections where classroom mathematics crosses middle school experience. The problem scenarios investigated at this level often start with a game—as did theoretical probability itself. Students find that many of the phenomena they encounter in game playing have predictable outcomes. To reach that conclusion, they need opportunities to consider data they generate, noting patterns that emerge and comparing their results with those predicted by theory. The activities, lesson plans, and project ideas selected for this publication offer such opportunities, not only in the context of games, since other situations can be analyzed in the light of probability. Even though several resources include, or even rely on, an online simulation, they can usually be adapted well to classrooms without computer access. The selected resources include background information for your own review of the concepts. The final section considers the place of probability in the NCTM Standards. We hope these resources offer worthwhile opportunities for your class to consider, "What's the chance that . . . ?" by Terese Herrera Terry Herrera taught math several years at middle and high school levels, then earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education. She is currently a resource specialist for the Middle School Portal. Please email any comments to: msp@msteacher.org  Back to top Copyright September 2006 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. About | Funded by NSF | Contact This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. Science Publications