Search results for " Overview"
showing 10 items of 155 documents
Using schematic representation of resource systems to examine how first year engineering students use resources in their studies of mathematics
2018
International audience; Very little research has been done on how students use resources when studying mathematics. My project aim to examine this both quantitatively and qualitatively. The qualitative data collection includes hierarchical focus interviews and schematic representation of resource system, with the intent to impose as little terminology as possible on the students.
The use of integrals in Mechanics of Materials textbooks for engineering students: the case of the first moment of an area
2018
International audience; Research has reported on the difficulties engineering students face in relating the content of their mathematics courses to what is taught in their professional courses. One way to address these difficulties is by better understanding how mathematical notions are used in professional engineering courses. This paper analyses how the notion of first moment of an area – which is defined as an integral – is used in civil engineering courses. Basing our analysis on elements from the anthropological theory of the didactic, we are currently analysing a classic Mechanics of Materials book. Our findings indicate that although first moments are introduced as an integral, the t…
A university lecturer's role and interactions in a flipped classroom
2018
International audience; This poster explores role of the lecturer in a university level mathematics class utilizing the flipped classroom approach to teaching. The role of the lecturer is investigated using the Systematic Classroom Analysis Notation (SCAN) tool and the theoretical framework of instrumental orchestration.
Learning the concept of family of functions through the modelling process using tablets
2015
International audience; In this study, we present a teaching situation to work on the modelling process using real data taken in classroom with tablets. The situation allowed us to work on the concept of the quadratic function with a group of 11th grade students and take into account the hypothesis that the qualitative analysis of the phenomenon, the knowledge of the qualitative properties of the families of functions and the meaning of the parameters are crucial elements for the management and control of the modelling process. We observed they are key elements to choose the function used as a model and to check its adequacy throughout the modelling process. Some student's conceptions on he…
On the History of Differentiable Manifolds
2012
International audience; We discuss central aspects of history of the concept of an affine dif-ferentiable manifold, as a proposal confirming the need for using some quantitative methods (drawn from elementary Model Theory) in Mathematical Historiography. In particular, we prove that this geometric structure is a syntactic rigid designator in the sense of Kripke-Putnam.
The complexity of knowledge construction in a classroom setting
2018
International audience; We study a class of mathematics education MA students in an introductory course on Chaos and Fractals, as they grapple with the Sierpinksi triangle, and in particular with the apparent paradox that its area equals 0, while its perimeter is infinitely long. For this purpose, we network an approach for investigating the construction of knowledge in small groups with one for examining how ideas and ways of reasoning function-as-if-shared in a classroom. Our results show complexities: (i) small group work and whole class discussions mutually influence each other; (ii) ideas may function-as-if-shared in the whole class even if the majority of students have not previously …
Helping lecturers address and formulate teaching challenges: an exploratory study
2018
International audience; In this paper we present an exploratory study on the kind of questions or difficulties lecturers point out at the beginning of an educational course – to be addressed in it. These questions happen to be very general and are poorly connected to the knowledge to be taught. We suggest a twofold interpretation of this phenomenon. On the one hand, and in the line of the didactic transposition theory, teachers do not allow themselves to raise questions about the knowledge that is supposed to be their main field of expertise. On the other hand, the prevailing institutional pedagogy does not provide teachers with a fruitful enough conceptual frame to formulate this kind of q…
Cross-linking maths: Using keynotes to structure a curriculum for future teachers
2018
International audience; The paper gives an outline of a concept for university maths teacher education, that is based on three keynotes, which are central scientific notions, history and language. Amongst other benefits, the keynotes serve as cross-links between the different courses the students go through in their studies.
Mathematical modelling and activation – a study on a large class, a project-based task and students' flow
2018
International audience; We studied how engineering students in a large class (n=346) can be activated by a project-based task, in which they have to model mathematically the motion of an object. The students had to throw an object, use (1) their smart phones for filming, and (2) tracker software for capturing the motion. Through a poster, they had to report their video analysis. We framed activation through the concept of flow, which is a state of being fully absorbed by an activity. We administered a web-based questionnaire (response rate 69%). The results show that such a project-based task is feasible with >300 students and activated them: three out of five experienced flow. Also, we val…