Impact of Fathom on Statistical Reasoning among Upper Secondary Students

The teaching and learning of statistical reasoning is becoming challenging due to the change in the perspective emphasizing on the deeper understanding rather than basic statistics computations. As suggested by researchers, implementing technologies able to develop student interest in the topics leads to deeper understanding. Hence, this study used dynamic software, Fathom for teaching statistical reasoning. The purpose of this study is to examine the statistical reasoning understanding among upper secondary students after using dynamic software, Fathom. The sample consists of seventy -two students randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental group underwent an intervention where they learnt statistical reasoning using Fathom while the control group learnt statistical reasoning using traditional learning method not involving Fathom. Statistical Reasoning Assessment (SRA) was used in this study as the instrument for measuring statistical reasoning. The research hypothesis data were analyzed using MANCOVA test. The findings showed a significant difference across four statistical reasoning constructs namely Describing Data, Organizing Data, Representing Data and Analyzing and Interpreting Data between students in the control and experimental groups. Furthermore, the results of the analysis emphasized that the students who learned statistical reasoning using Fathom performed better than students in the control group. In brief, the upper secondary students’ statistical reasoning enhanced after implementing Fathom.