Students' Use of Representations in Mathematics Education [electronic resource] / S. Asli Ozgun-Koca.
The use of multiple representations with or without technology is one of the major topics in mathematics education that has gained importance in recent decades. The use of multiple representations is advocated by many mathematics educators and supported by the National Council of Teachers of Mathema...
Saved in:
| Online Access: |
Full Text (via ERIC) |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[S.l.] :
Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse,
1998.
|
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | The use of multiple representations with or without technology is one of the major topics in mathematics education that has gained importance in recent decades. The use of multiple representations is advocated by many mathematics educators and supported by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards. In this paper, multiple representations are defined as external mathematical embodiments of ideas and concepts to provide the same information in more than one form. It is suggested that multiple representations provide an environment for students to abstract and understand major mathematical concepts. Thus, it is necessary to understand how students see and use these representations. The questions addressed in this study included: (1) what are students' attitudes towards multiple representations?; (2) what affects students' choice of representation to solve a mathematics problem?; and (3) how does the computer setting affect students' choice of representations? After observing a remedial college freshman mathematics class, interviewing the instructor, and having one computer lab hour with the class, a Likert scale questionnaire based on the data collected in the interview and observations, was administered in order to obtain the students' attitudes toward mathematics and multiple representations, their strategies and preferences related to the use of representations, and influences of technology on this issue. Findings indicate that previous knowledge and experience and personal preferences were the main themes in choosing a mathematical representation. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/ASK) |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | ERIC Document Number: ED425937. ERIC Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Raleigh, NC, October 31-November 2, 1998). Colored charts may not reproduce well. |
| Physical Description: | 17 p. |