Designing for the Development of Probabilistic Thinking: A Design-Based Research Study in Lower Secondary Education

TL;DR

This study explores a problem-based instructional approach to teaching probability in lower secondary education, aiming to develop students' probabilistic thinking and reasoning skills through carefully designed tasks.

Contribution

It introduces a design-based research methodology with targeted problems to enhance probabilistic understanding and communication skills in a classroom setting.

Findings

Students improved their reasoning and argumentative skills.

The approach helped bridge intuitive reasoning and formal probability concepts.

Teachers found the method effective for engaging students in probabilistic thinking.

Abstract

Drawing on the Data and Predictions strand of the Indicazioni Nazionali per il curricolo 2012, this study proposes a problem based instructional approach to the teaching of probability. More specifically, the study adopts a design based research methodology structured in a single cycle consisting of two teaching interventions in the same class, carried out in two consecutive years. Within this framework, a set of carefully selected problems is employed to foster students engagement. These problems are designed not only to introduce probabilistic concepts, but also to stimulate students' communicative and argumentative skills. The selected tasks provide opportunities to promote key process goals (such as reasoning and proving, communicating, representing, and making connections) which are often overshadowed by a predominant focus on content goals. This approach aims to support teachers in addressing the difficulties they frequently encounter in guiding students conceptualization processes, particularly in bridging the gap between students intuitive reasoning and formal abstraction. At the same time, it seeks to help students develop more robust and flexible forms of thinking, enabling them to better navigate situations involving uncertainty in everyday life.