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Clarkson prof. uses NSF grant to study children’s statistical thinking

Clarkson University professor Andreas Wilke (second from right) will use a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a study focused on statistical thinking in children. Pictured with Wilke here are (from left to right): Clarkson University students Nia Brown, Gracie DeLaBruere, and Hannah Spilman; Clarkson Professor Steven Pedersen and Professor Bang Geul Han from the CUNY College of Staten Island, both of whom are part of Wilke’s research team; and Lori Moulton, director of the SUNY Potsdam Childcare Center. PHOTO CREDIT: CLARKSON UNIVERSITY WEBSITE

POTSDAM, N.Y. — A Clarkson University professor is using a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study statistical thinking in children. The NSF grant will support Andreas Wilke’s investigation of the cognitive mechanisms underlying children’s perception of randomness, and their susceptibility to erroneous judgments. Wilke is an associate professor and chair of […]

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POTSDAM, N.Y. — A Clarkson University professor is using a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study statistical thinking in children.

The NSF grant will support Andreas Wilke’s investigation of the cognitive mechanisms underlying children’s perception of randomness, and their susceptibility to erroneous judgments.

Wilke is an associate professor and chair of the Clarkson University psychology department.

“We developed three novel statistical decision-making paradigms — based on our work with adults — that will assess how three- to 10-year-old children decide whether sequential events will continue in a streak, how they understand randomness, and how they reason about sequential patterns in space and time,” Wilke said in a release. “Our results will contribute to developing better methods of science education for helping children and students to more accurately recognize what are likely patterns and what is random. The world is statistical in nature. A sound understanding of randomness is central to teaching statistics, informs our decision-making processes, and provides guidance when facing judgments under risk and uncertainty.”

Wilke and his co-investigator Annie Wertz — a developmental psychologist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany — will team up to test children at daycare facilities such as the Childcare Center at SUNY Potsdam.

The research team also includes Peter Todd (Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University-Bloomington); Clark Barrett (UCLA Anthropology); Bang-Geul Han (Design and Digital Media, CUNY College of Staten Island); and Steven Pedersen (Communication, Media, and Design, Clarkson University).

For their project, they’ll give the children involved “fun and engaging” short iPad tasks and study the development of their statistical thinking. Wilke’s study will begin later this fall “under strict and safe” COVID-19 testing protocols. His team is seeking to enroll more children for the study, ages three to 10.

To learn more about these studies and/or help by enrolling your child in it, those interested can email the Evolution and Cognition Lab at ecl@clarkson.edu.

Part of the funding from this grant will go directly into training Clarkson undergraduate students in conducting multidisciplinary international research, supporting their attendance at scientific conferences, as well as accompanying Wilke on research visits to Germany, the school said.

Eric Reinhardt