Using Minitab to Improve Students' Understanding of the Central Limit Theorem
Kate McGivney
Shippensburg University
Phone: (717) 477-1490
E-mail: kgmcgi@ship.edu
ABSTRACT
Loosely stated, the Central Limit Theorem says that for sufficiently large n,
the sample mean of n independent and identically distributed random variables,
has an approximately normal distribution regardless of the underlying distribution.
Students new to probability often have a hard time making sense of this powerful result.
Lab activities that employ the statistical software package, Minitab, provide a way for
students to see this theorem in action.
