Statistics and reality in students’ daily lives

Statistics is a part of applied mathematics that studies methods for collecting, organising, analysing and interpreting data, since its study is aimed, among other things, at decision-making. So we have to experience it so that we can understand it better without skipping any steps. In this way we will better interpret and consequently improve the skills and competences that, although important, should not be measured only through a written test, but through the application of a concept constructed and experienced by the student in everyday life. Statistics therefore seeks situations in which problem-solving is meaningful for the student and mobilises their cognitive resources. According to the PCN's (2002), the teaching of mathematics can help students develop skills related to representation, comprehension and investigation, as well as socio-cultural contextualisation. This means placing students in a teaching-learning process that values mathematical (statistical) reasoning and also enables the teacher to work on content in an interdisciplinary way and broaden the understanding of its meanings, thus contributing to the formation of knowledge.