Contextual considerations in probabilistic situations

an aid or a hindrance?

Ami Mamolo

Rina Zazkis

pp. 641-656

in: Egan J. Chernoff, Bharath Sriraman (eds), Probabilistic thinking, Berlin, Springer, 2014

Abstract

We examine the responses of secondary school teachers to a probability task with an infinite sample space. Specifically, the participants were asked to comment on a potential disagreement between two students when evaluating the probability of picking a particular real number from a given interval of real numbers. Their responses were analyzed via the theoretical lens of reducing abstraction. The results show a strong dependence on a contextualized interpretation of the task, even when formal mathematical knowledge is evidenced in the responses.