Mathematical Modelling: the Interaction of Culture and Practice |
| |
| Authors: | Susan Molyneux-Hodgson Teresa Rojano Rosamund Sutherland Sonia Ursini |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, U.K;(2) Research and Advanced Studies Centre, Mexico |
| |
| Abstract: | Using a sociocultural approach we analyse the results of a Mexican/British project which investigated the ways in which mathematics
is used in the practice of school science and the role of spreadsheets as a mathematical modelling tool. After discussing
the different school cultures experienced by two groups of pre-university 16–18 year old students we analyse how these different
cultures influenced their practice of mathematics, as well as their work with mathematical spreadsheet modelling activities.
There were clear differences between the two groups of students in their preference for external representations, in their
understanding of the kind of answers they were expected to produce and in the way they conceived the role of mathematics in
the practice of science. Although students preferences for a particular representation were not significantly modified by
the use of a spreadsheet as a modelling resource, at the end of the study the students recognised the value of using a more
diverse set of representations. The results obtained suggest the possibility of enhancing students' capability to shift between
a wider range of representations, including graphical, algebraic and numeric ones, using a modelling approach embedded in
a computer environment such as a spreadsheet.
This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
