Seventh grade students’ sense making of data and data representations

The paper describes 7th graders’ cooperative work on a data assessment task in a computerassisted environment. The task was administered at the end of a carefully designed Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) course. The purpose of the study is to assess students’ ability to make sense of data and their representations: a) use of data analysis skills, and understanding of basic statistical procedures and concepts; b) if and how they adopted the dispositions and points of view of certain aspects of the EDA culture. The “local-global lens” is used to assess students’ formulation of research questions and hypotheses, and use and interpretation of data representations.