The role of computer based technology in developing understanding of the concept of sampling distribution

Traditionally, the concept of sampling distribution has been seen as fundamental to an understanding of introductory statistical inference. As a result many computer packages have been developed which offer activities intended to support the development of this concept. However, we need to recognise that the concept of sampling distribution is complex and ultifaceted, with many different mathematical and symbolic representations possible. Computer simulations of the sampling distribution tend to address only the empirical representation of this concept, and leave the linking of representations to the user. And it is the development of these links which is critical to the development of understanding in statistical inference. This paper reports some results of a study analysing the role of the computer-based technology in the development of understanding of sampling distribution.