Four Themes About Construction of Histograms

This article reports findings from a multi-year mixed-method study that explored the challenges students encountered while answering fundamental histogram questions. In the first stage in 2017, an exploratory study was conducted using think-aloud protocols. In the second stage in 2019, an online survey was developed to confirm the preliminary themes. Four themes were identified. The themes are as follows: (a) identify the correct type of graph to explore the center and variability of one quantitative variable; (b) realize data has its own expressed shape; (c) lose concrete identifiers; and (d) create bins and count individual values. These themes will add to the current knowledge of students' difficulty with interpreting and describing histograms. This knowledge can help teachers prepare activities to promote understanding of histograms.