The Quest of the Bell Curve: a Constructionist Approach to Learning Statistics through Designing Computer-based Probability Experiments

This paper introduces the rationale, explains the functioning, and describes the process of developing ‘Equidistant Probability’, a NetLogo microworld that models stochastic behavior. In particular, we detail the phases in attempting to choose suitable parameters and create such graph displays as will permit an observer to witness the incremental growth of a bell-shaped curve. We argue that the process of building the model, and in particular the accountability, motivation, and frustration experienced, were conducive to ‘connected learning’ (Wilensky, 1993), through which the design of this microworld is grounded. The microworld is part of “ProbLab,” a suite of Probability-and-Statistics models, which in turn is part of “Understanding Complexity,” a middle-school curriculum, currently in development.