Computer simulations and animations for developing statistical conceptions are often not understood by beginners. Hands-on physical simulations that morph into computer simulation images are teaching approaches that can build students' concepts. In this paper we describe an instructional sequence, from hands on to "movie snapshots", which was trialed in a Grade 9 class. The instruction focused on developing students' sampling variability concepts and on making inferences about populations from samples. Responses from three students' interviews and two assessment items are explored, including the images they worked with when they reasoned and made a call from box plots. The findings suggest that students can use sampling variability ideas to support their inferential reasoning.
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