OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE CONTENT FEATURES OF STOCHASTIC MATERIAL IN A MATHEMATICS COURSE

Abstract

The work is devoted to the peculiarities of the content of stochastic material included in the school course of mathematics.  Among these features, the exceptional and unique potential of materials on probability theory and mathematical statistics in shaping and developing students' probabilistic thinking is first and foremost considered. The next feature to be taken into account is the applied orientation of stochastics: its extensiveness, which creates the basis for establishing broad interdisciplinary links with both natural science and humanities subjects within the framework of general education.  An important element of the content of probability theory and mathematical statistics is experimental research, which is also seen as an important feature, an important way of confirming statistical representations, different from the way adopted in classical mathematics. One of the most important features of stochasticity is the unique aesthetic appeal of the material, its association with signs of scientific beauty, the unexpectedness of probabilistic phenomena, the paucity of mathematical formulas, and so on.

            It is shown that there is a unique approach for each feature of stochastic material: in terms of activating students' interest in them, increasing learning efficiency and effectively solving other educational tasks.