Chances Are: Making Probability and Statistics Fun to Learn and Easy to Teach

Do you avoid teaching probability and statistics because the subjects seem confusing and complex? Are you less than sure about your knowledge of the topics?

Let Chances Are . . . take you and your students on a fun and exciting mathematical journey none of you will ever forget! Filled with easy-to-understand explanations and creative activities, this book offers teachers a simple method for teaching probability and statistics in an enjoyable way. This book can serve as an introduction for any beginner, from gifted and advanced students in upper elementary school, to high school students needing enrichment or preparation for Advanced Placement Statistics or future college courses.

From helping to win a card game, to making life-or-death medical decisions, the uses of probability and statistics are virtually endless. For teachers of elementary students, the book offers simple, hands-on lessons and activities about probability and basic statistics. For teachers of older students, advanced statistical concepts are discussed and activities are provided. Reviewers have found the book's level to be appropriate for a wide range of ages, from fourth graders to post-secondary students.

Grades 4-12

Nancy Pfenning, Ph.D., has taught statistics and probability to students at every level from elementary school children to college students. As a teacher with the Carnegie-Mellon University Institute for Talented Elementary Students (C-MITES) she developed many of the activities in this book. She is senior lecturer in statistics at the University of Pittsburgh, where she routinely—and successfully—employs her hands-on activities that were first developed for much younger students. She is in the process of writing an introductory college statistics textbook, to be published by Duxbury/Thomson in 2008. "Statistics: Looking at the Big Picture" will promote a comprehensive understanding of statistical methods by presenting all the material in the context of a natural global structure. The emphasis is on concepts rather than on computations and on the relevance of statistics to our everyday lives.