Video evidence : What gestures tell us about students' understanding of rate of change
- Authors: Herbert, Sandra , Pierce, Robyn
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 30th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group Of Australasia: Mathematics: Essential Research, Essential Practice, Wrest Point Hotel Casino, Hobart, Tasmania : 2nd-6th July 2007 p. 362-371
- Full Text: false
- Description: This paper reports on insights into students' understanding of the concept of rate of change, provided by examining the gestures made, by 25 Year 10 students, in video-recorded interviews. Detailed analysis, of both the sounds and images, illuminates the meaning of rate-related gestures. Findings indicate that students often use the symbols and metaphors of gesture to complement, supplement, or even contradict verbal descriptions. Many students demonstrated, by the combination of their words and gestures, a sound qualitative understanding of constant rate, with a few attempting to quantify rate. This interpretation of gestures may provide teachers with a better understanding of the progress in their students' thinking.
- Description: 2003002300
Gifted are lifted higher: an exploration of the development of the higher order thinking skills of gifted playing strategy games
- Authors: Herbert, Sandra , Pierce, Robyn
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: TalentEd Vol. 22, no. 1 (2005), p. 22-30
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- Description: Strategy games can provide an opportunity to develop higher order thinking skills in students gifted in mathematics. Extending and engaging gifted students is a demanding task. This paper reports on a twelve-week project undertaken with a group of nine gifted lower secondary school students. These students played and analysed five traditional strategy games. Following this experience, they were asked to create a challenging strategy game of their own. This paper discusses the rationale for the use of traditional strategy games, outlines the methodology employed, explains the selection of specific games and describes the observed improvement in students' higher order thinking skills.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001374
Revealing conceptions of rate of change
- Authors: Herbert, Sandra , Pierce, Robyn
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at MERGA32 Conference, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand : 5th-9th July 2009
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- Description: Rate of change is an important mathematical concept. Research referring to students’ difficulties with this concept spans more than twenty years. Research suggests that problems experienced by some calculus students are likely a result of pre-existing limited or incorrect conceptions of rate of change. This study investigated 23 Victorian Year 10 students’ understanding of rate as revealed by phenomenographic analysis of interviews. Eight conceptions of rate of change emerged. Four important aspects of the concept were identified and gaps in students’ thinking defined. In addition, the employment of phenomenography, to reveal conceptions of rate, is described in detail.
- Description: 2003007238
Can the notion of affordances be of use in the design of a technology enriched mathematics curriculum
- Authors: Brown, Jill , Stillman, Gloria , Herbert, Sandra
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 27th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Townsville, Australia : 27th June, 2004 p. 119-126
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- Description: The term affordances is rising in prominence in scholarly literature in mathematics education generally and in technology in mathematics education in particular. A proliferation of different uses and meanings is evident. The roots and use of the term and some of its applications are explored in order to clarify its many meanings. Its potential usefulness for developing a framework for a new research project which aims to enhance mathematics achievement and engagement at the secondary level by using technology to support real world problem solving and lessons of high cognitive demand is investigated.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003000839
An investigation of middle secondary students’ mathematical conceptions of rate
- Authors: Herbert, Sandra
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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- Description: This qualitative study investigated Year 10 students’ understandings of the important mathematical concept of 'rate'. Results identified educationally critical aspects including teaching through a range of contexts and representations.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Potential of technology and a familiar context to enhance students’ concept of rate of change
- Authors: Herbert, Sandra , Pierce, Robyn
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 28th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA), Sydney : 7th July, 2005 Vol. 2, p. 435-442
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- Description: Students’ concept image of rate of change may be incomplete or erroneous This paper reports a pilot study, with secondary school students, which explores the potential of technology (JavaMathWorlds), depicting a familiar context of motion, to develop students’ existing schema of informal understandings of rate of change to more formal mathematical representations Students developed numerous ‘models of’ rate of change in a motion context which then transferred to serve as a ‘model for’ rate of change in other contexts
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003001373
Reflections on exponential functions
- Authors: Herbert, Sandra , Afshar, Farhang
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 31st Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group Of Australasia: Navigating Currents and Charting Directions, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland : 28th June - 1st July 2008 p. 676
- Full Text: false
- Description: A pilot study, analysing twenty-one Year 10 students' reflections on a unit of exponential functions taught using real-world problems, and supported by the use of CAS calculators. The real-world contexts explored during the unit provided a focus for follow-up interviews. Detailed analysis of the transcripts revealed four themes: Impact of technology; difficulty in expression; prediction; choice of scenario. Findings support results from related research reported in the literature and highlight the importance of the choice of real-world scenarios. Analysis revealed variation in students' preference relating to scenarios. This variation provides a challenge in the preparation of appropriate material.
CAS : Student engagement requires unambiguous advantages
- Authors: Pierce, Robyn , Herbert, Sandra , Giri, Jason
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 27th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Group of Australasia, Townsville, Australia : p. 462-469
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- Description: E1
- Description: 2003000921