Examples of Metaphors in Statistics and Probability?

Question

I have a couple of questions about teaching of Probability and Statistics for high school students: 1. Can I find metaphors for the teaching of basic concepts of Probability and Statistics? (Please, give me concrete examples) 2. Why is difficult to find metaphors in these areas? Thank you for any suggestions!

Answer 1

This will only be a partial answer.

One of the main reasons why it is hard to find metaphors for teaching Statistics and Probability is potentially due to a preference for a practical/simulation method of teaching the concepts (which I have found to be more effective in my own practice), such as explained in "The Role of Simulation Approaches in Statistics" (Wood, 2005). Where the author has stated:

These simulation approaches have a number of advantages compared with conventional approaches: their generality and robustness; the amount of technical background knowledge is much reduced; and, because the methods are essentially sequences of physical actions, it is likely to be easier to understand their interpretation and limitations.

The same could be applied to probability concepts.

This is further emphasised in the article How Students Learn Statistics Revisited: A Current Review of Research on Teaching and Learning Statistics (Garfield and Ben-Zvi, 2007). (Note, the full article is available at ResearchGate and does go into probability).

Where part of the conclusion suggests

the difficulties students have learning statistics and the need to revise traditional methods of teaching.

I hope this helps in some small way.