Online Communities of Practice Enhancing Statistics Instruction: The European Project EarlyStatistics

Abstract

Acknowledging the fact that teachers are at the heart of any educational reform effort, the European Union funded project EarlyStatistics aims to enrich European children's learning of statistics by offering their mathematics teachers a high‑quality online professional development program. A central conviction underlying the design of the program is that learning as part of a community of practitioners can provide a useful model for teacher professional development. Teachers participating in the program will form a virtual community of practice, which will support best practices and innovation in statistics education by providing access to a wide array of colleagues, discussions, and resources eluding teachers in their workplaces.