Opportunities to Learn Mean, Median, and Mode Afforded by Textbook Tasks

This research paper examines tasks related to mean, median, and mode in seven Swedish textbook series for students aged between 10–13 years. The tasks were analysed based on context, mathematical properties, input and output objects, and transformations. These categories allowed for a thorough analysis of the opportunities afforded to students to understand these measures. The analysis revealed that most tasks focus on the mean and on procedural transformations with quantitative values. The findings suggested that the textbooks do not afford enough explicit context for students to develop a deep understanding of the mathematical properties of different measures of central tendency. By analysing various textbooks, a broader understanding of the learning opportunities afforded to students was gained. The discussion includes the implications of these results for task design.