Chance Encounters: Probability in Education

' I recommand the book as a refreshing step in providing some snapshots of the fascinating area of stochastic thinking, views of the river of change. ' J. Research in Math. Education 24:1 1993

• 1: The Educational Perspective.- 1. Aims and Rationale.- 2. Views on Didactics.- 3. Basic Ideas of the Chapters.- 2: A Probabilistic Perspective.- 1. History and Philosophy.- 2. The Mathematical Background.- 3. Paradoxes and Fallacies.- 3: Empirical Research in Understanding Probability.- 1. Research Framework.- 2. Sample Space and Symmetry View.- 3. Frequentist Interpretation.- 4. Independence and Dependence.- 5. Statistical Inference.- 6. Concluding Comments.- 4: Analysis of the Probability Curriculum.- 1. General Aims.- 2. General Curriculum Issues.- 3. Curriculum Issues in Probability.- 4. Approaches to the Probability Curriculum.- 5: The Theoretical Nature of Probability in the Classroom.- 1. Approaches towards Teaching.- 2. The Theoretical Nature of Stochastic Knowledge.- 3. Didactic Means to Respect the Theoretical Nature of Probability.- 4. On the Didactic Organization of Teaching Processes.- 5. Discussion of an Exemplary Task.- 6: Computers in Probability Education.- 1. Computers and Current Practice in Probability Teaching.- 2. Computers as Mathematical Utilities.- 3. Simulation as a Problem Solving Method.- 4. Simulation and Data Analysis for Providing an Empirical Background for Probability.- 5. Visualization, Graphical Methods and Animation.- 6. Concluding Remarks.- Software/Bibliography.- 7: Psychological Research in Probabilistic Understanding.- 1. Traditional Research Paradigms.- 2. Current Research Paradigms.- 3. Critical Dimensions of Educational Relevance.- 4. Developmental Approaches on the Acquisition of the Probability Concept.- Looking Forward.