Title Page

Author Information

Lingguo Bu is a PhD student in the Department of Middle and Secondary Education at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. He is interested in the use of technology in supporting students' mathematical investigation in the middle and secondary grades. Maria L. Fernández is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Florida International University in Miami, FL. Her research interests are primarily in the areas of the professional development of teachers of mathematics and using technology for teaching and learning mathematics.

Abstract

Spinners can be used successfully for students to explore and make connections between the spinner design and the probability of an event. However, when integrated with other activities, spinners may complicate a problem situation, leading to unexpected results. In this article, we share one such experience that occurred as part of a middle grades teacher professional development project. Working with two fourth-grade teachers and their students during a lesson study involving a track meet game, we came to understand the complexities of the probability-based situation. We unveil various aspects of a problem arising from the track meet game as we review student-generated data, conduct computer simulations, seek an analytical solution to the problem, and make connections to classic problems in probability. Interactive components in the article allow for immediate computer simulation and formula evaluation.

Technologies

There are two interactive components in the article, which use JavaScript to simulate the track meet game and evaluate formulas. You need to enable JavaScript in your browser to use such tools. There are also several links referring to other web resources containing XHTML or MATHML. Such web pages are better accessed through the Mozilla FireFox browser (version 1.5 or later) with the corresponding plug-ins.

Keywords

• Spinner
• Probability
• Data analysis
• Computer simulation
• Teacher professional development

Publication data

• Published November, 2007; article ID 1659
• Copyright © 2007, by Lingguo Bu and Maria L. Fernández

Article Link

• Spinner, Track Meet, and Probability