0000000000138973
AUTHOR
Mira Randahl
showing 4 related works from this author
Approach to mathematics in textbooks at tertiary level – exploring authors’ views about their texts
2012
The aim of this article is to present and discuss some results from an inquiry into mathematics textbooks authors’ visions about their texts and approaches they choose when new concepts are introduced. Authors’ responses are discussed in relation to results about students’ difficulties with approaching calculus reported by previous research. A questionnaire has been designed and sent to seven authors of the most used calculus textbooks in Norway and four authors have responded. The responses show that the authors mainly view teaching in terms of transmission so they focus mainly on getting the mathematical content correct and ‘clear’. The dominant view is that the textbook is intended to he…
The mathematics textbook at tertiary level as curriculum material – exploring the teacher's decision-making process
2016
AbstractThis paper reports on a study about how the mathematics textbook was perceived and used by the teacher in the context of a calculus part of a basic mathematics course for first-year engineering students. The focus was on the teacher's choices and the use of definitions, examples and exercises in a sequence of lectures introducing the derivative concept. Data were collected during observations of lectures and an interview, and informal talks with the teacher. The introduction and the treatment of the derivative as proposed by the teacher during the lectures were analysed in relation to the results of the content text analysis of the textbook. The teacher's decisions were explored thr…
First-year engineering students’ use of their mathematics textbook - opportunities and constraints
2012
Published version of an article in the journal: Mathematics Education Research Journal. Also available from the publlisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13394-012-0040-9 The role of the mathematics textbook at tertiary level has received limited exposure in previous research although it is likely that students work individually and that some of this work depends on the use of the textbook. The aim of this study was to investigate the process of approaching the textbook from epistemological, cognitive, and didactical perspectives. The focus was on identifying and discussing the opportunities and constraints in the process. The study was an explorative case study and the participants were fi…
Engineering students approaching the mathematics textbook as a potential learning tool – opportunities and constraints
2016
Doktorgradsavhandling It is usually assumed that the students at tertiary level work intensively and individually with the new mathematical concepts (Wood, 2001). In this context the mathematics textbook might be an important learning tool. This thesis addresses the issue of what factors might influence the role of the mathematics textbook as a learning tool. The study is situated in the context of the basic mathematics course taken by first-year engineering students. A brief pilot study indicated that a majority of the students preferred using lecture notes rather than the textbook although in the beginning of the semester they perceived the textbook as being important when learning mathem…