| This study sought to characterize the statistical knowledge, personal knowledge, and interplay between statistical knowledge and personal knowledge in students' interpretations of scatterplots. The three research questions that guided this study were: (i) What are the characteristics of students' statistical knowledge when they interpret a scatterplot? More specifically, what are the characteristics associated with identifying trends, interpolation and extrapolation? (ii) What are the characteristics of students' personal knowledge when they interpret a scatterplot? (iii) What interplay occurs between a student's personal knowledge and statistical knowledge in the interpretation of a scatterplot? In order to answer the research questions, students from grades 8, 10, and 12 were asked to interpret eight different scatterplots in semi-structured interview sessions. An adaptation of the Dapueto and Parenti (1999) model was utilized to identify the types of knowledge students drew on in their interpretation of a scatterplot. The study characterized students' statistical knowledge and personal knowledge that was evident in their interpretation of a scatterplot and provides a foundation for further research. |
