Teaching the Concept of Random Variable Using the Riemann-Stieltjes Integral Approach and Scaffolding Strategy for Science and Engineering Students

The current research was conducted with the aim of studying the scaffolding strategy and providing a new approach for teaching random variables in probability courses of science and engineering students.

In this article, firstly, some issues are raised about active learning and factors such as group work, corrective feedback, and the use of computers that help students learn courses related to statistics and probability. Then the demonstration programs that can replace the classical educational methods were introduced.

In the following, some common misconceptions of students about events, random variables and continuous random variables will be mentioned and these concepts will be analyzed by citing a number of examples. In the last part, the concept of scaffolding and its application in random variable education and a teaching approach in statistics and probability courses are described.

According to the items stated in the article, it is suggested to teach the basic topics of random variables, instead of teaching discrete and continuous random variables separately, random variables should be taught in general.