How useful are closed captions for learning mathematics via online video?

Closed captioning of instructional videos is a topic that has not seen much discussion despite its importance for hearing-impaired students and recent legal ramifications if videos are not appropriately captioned. In particular, it is unclear what best practice in captioning videos should be to benefit all learners in disciplines such as mathematics with a reliance on the development of visual explanation while providing audio narration. In this paper, we report on a study undertaken at an Australian university, to investigate the perceived level of usefulness of captions and their automatic translations in a mathematics course. We discovered that students broadly agreed that captions are a useful learning feature: to allow flexibility of where and when a video is watched, but also to help understand speaker accents, and clarify explanations that are difficult to hear in the recording. Due to the high levels of use and perceived educational benefits of closed captions in online video but limited literature, there is a significant need for new research in this area. An urgent discussion is needed to explore how students engage with closed captions, how they may support learning, and to investigate implications on instructional design of mathematical videos.     

On Systems of Boundary Value Problems for Differential Inclusions

Herein we consider the existence of solutions to second-order, two-point boundary value problems （BVPs） for systems of ordinary differential inclusions. Some new Bernstein-Nagumo conditions are presented that ensure a priori bounds on the derivative of solutions to the differential inclusion. These a priori bound results are then applied, in conjunction with appropriate topological methods, to prove some new existence theorems for solutions to systems of BVPs for differential inclusions. The new conditions allow of the treatment of systems of BVPs without growth restrictions.     

Rethinking pedagogy for second-order differential equations: a simplified approach to understanding well-posed problems

Knowing an equation has a unique solution is important from both a modelling and theoretical point of view. For over 70 years, the approach to learning and teaching ‘well posedness’ of initial value problems (IVPs) for second- and higher-order ordinary differential equations has involved transforming the problem and its analysis to a first-order system of equations. We show that this excursion is unnecessary and present a direct approach regarding second- and higher-order problems that does not require an understanding of systems.     

Existence and exact controllability of fractional evolution inclusions with damping

The aim of this paper is to deal with the existence of mild solutions and exact controllability for a class of fractional evolution inclusions with damping (FEID, for short) in Banach spaces. Firstly, we provide the representation of mild solutions for FEID by applying the method of Laplace transform and the theory of (α,κ)‐regularized families of operators. Next, we are concerned with the existence and exact controllability of FEID under some suitable sufficient conditions by using the method of measure of noncompactness and an appropraite fixed point theorem. Finally, an application to nonlinear partial differential equations with temporal fractional derivatives is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of our main results. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pedogogical perspectives on the method of Wilmer III and Costa for solving second-order differential equations

Recently, Wilmer III and Costa introduced a method into the mathematics education research literature which they employed to construct solutions to certain classes of ordinary differential equations. In this article, we build on their ideas in the following ways. We establish a link between their approach and the method of successive approximations. We show how applying the method of approximations naturally leads to the constructed approximation of Wilmer III and Costa. The new link is important because it enables us to respond to several challenges posed by Wilmer III and Costa. This includes addressing issues raised therein with convergence of their recursively constructed sequence of functions, and responding to their call regarding more mathematical rigour when relaxing the polynomial condition on the coefficients in the differential equation. Furthermore, the new link is pedagogically significant because it also opens up new pedagogical points of view. For example, the results in this paper provide potentially alternate, but overlapping, perspectives that are suitable for, and jointly inform, the learning and teaching of solution methods to differential equations. The value of this is supported by the presumption of Tisdell that teaching multiple ways to solve the same problem has academic and social value.     

Critical perspectives of the ‘new’ difference equation solution method of Rivera-Figueroa and Rivera-Rebolledo

Recently, claims of a ‘new and straightforward’ method of solution to second-order linear difference equations have appeared in the mathematics education literature from Rivera-Figueroa and Rivera-Rebolledo. The claim of novelty is based on an assumption that ‘since the equation is worked in its canonical form’, the method within this context must be new. In addition, the assertion of straightforwardness is based on the position that ‘the solution comes naturally’ through this method, rather than artificially. In this article, we subject these claims and assumptions to closer scrutiny, examination and analysis. We note that the method has been published before, and we present the method in a more succinct form. We also discuss how the method can be extended to solve difference equations with non-constant coefficients, illustrating this via a discussion of an example.     

Three Point Boundary Value Problems on Time Scales

This work formulates existence theorems for solutions to three-point boundary value problems on time scales. The ideas are based on a relationship between the three point boundary conditions, lower and upper solutions and topological degree theory.     

On first-order discrete boundary value problems

This article analyzes a nonlinear system of first-order difference equations with periodic and non-periodic boundary conditions. Some sufficient conditions are presented under which: potential solutions to the equations will satisfy certain a priori bounds; and the equations will admit at least one solution. The methods involve new dynamic inequalities and use of Brouwer degree theory. The new results are compared with those featuring in the theory of solutions to boundary value problems for differential equations.     

A note on improved contraction methods for discrete boundary value problems

This work investigates a two-point boundary value problem (BVP) involving a first-order difference equation, known as the ‘discrete’ BVP. Some sufficient conditions are formulated under which the discrete BVP will possess a unique solution. The innovation herein involves a strategic choice of metric and utilization of Hölder's inequality. This approach enables the associated mappings to be contractive, which were previously non-contractive in traditional settings. This consequently enables an improved application of the fixed-point theorem of Stefan Banach by addressing a wider range of problems than those covered by the current literature. A YouTube video presentation by the author designed to complement this work is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luLuQ1KyXy8.     

NONDEGENERACY OF POSITIVE SOLUTIONS TO HOMOGENEOUS SECOND-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL SYSTEMS AND ITS APPLICATIONS

This article considers the Dirichlet problem of homogeneous and inhomogeneous second-order ordinary differential systems. A nondegeneracy result is proven for positive solutions of homogeneous systems. Sufficient and necessary conditions for the existence of multiple positive solutions for inhomogeneous systems are obtained by making use of the nondegeneracy and uniqueness results of homogeneous systems.