Using the five practices model to promote statistical discourse

Abstract

Statistical tasks that can be solved in a variety of ways provide rich sites for classroom discourse. Orchestrating such discourse requires careful planning and execution. Stein, Engle, Smith, and Hughes (2008) suggested five practices to help teachers do so. The five practices can be used to structure conversations so that coherent classroom narratives about solutions to tasks may be formed. In this manuscript, two classroom examples that illustrate the five practices are offered. It is argued that employing the five practices can lead to higher quality classroom discussion than some commonly used arrangements.