This quantitative study compared two groups of community college students who were studying elementary statistics. The control group consisted of 38 students in two classes during the fall of 1998, and the treatment group contained 40 students in two classes during the spring of 1999. The treatment group participated in ten data collection and analysis activities in lieu of some teacher-centered instruction. The study determined if treatment students would: (1) show different levels of understanding; (2) write more accurate, detailed, and complete explanations on open-ended essay questions; (3) more readily see applications of statistics; and (4) develop different attitudes and beliefs about statistics. Results showed that students in the treatment group had better grades on the first of three tests (p <.0001), but on none of the selected final examination items. Administration of the Survey of Attitudes toward Statistics (SATS) and the STARC-CHANCE showed no statistically significant differences. The study concluded that the data do not indicate that including 10 constructive hands-on activities in an otherwise traditional course is sufficient to achieve broad gains in statistical understanding. It recommended that sequences of related activities be implemented to help students build on previous ideas and develop connections among concepts. (Contains 86 references.) (NB)