A sense-making approach to proof: Strategies of students in traditional and problem-based number theory courses

This paper reports the results of an exploratory study of the perceptions of and approaches to mathematical proof of undergraduates enrolled in lecture-based and problem-based “transition to proof” courses. While the students in the lecture-based course demonstrated conceptions of proof that reflect those reported in the research literature as insufficient and typical of undergraduates, the students in the problem-based course were found to hold conceptions of and approach the construction of proofs in ways that demonstrated efforts to make sense of mathematical ideas. This sense-making manifested itself in the ways in which students employed initial strategies, notation, prior knowledge and experiences, and concrete examples in the proof construction process. These differences were also seen when students were asked to determine the validity of completed proofs. These results suggest that such a problem-based course may provide opportunities for students to develop conceptions of proof that are more meaningful and robust than does a traditional lecture-based course.     

Micros in mathematics education—Uses of spreadsheets in CAL

In this paper it is shown that teachers and students can study the mathematical problem through commercially available powerful spreadsheet software programs without being bogged down by the programming problem. It is illustrated by two examples. One is taken from a differentiable function the derivative of which is discontinuous at the origin. The other example uses Simpson's rule to find the area under the standard normal distribution.     

Mathematical under-preparedness: the influence of the pre-tertiary mathematics experience on students’ ability to make a successful transition to tertiary level mathematics courses in Ireland

Internationally, the consequences of the ‘Mathematics problem’ are a source of concern for the education sector and governments alike. Growing consensus exists that the inability of students to successfully make the transition to tertiary level mathematics education lies in the substantial mismatch between the nature of entrants’ pre-tertiary mathematical experiences and subsequent tertiary level mathematics-intensive courses. This paper reports on an Irish study that focuses on the pre-tertiary mathematics experience of entering students and examined its influence on students’ ability to make a successful transition to tertiary level mathematics. Brousseau's ‘didactical contract’ is used as an intellectual tool to uncover and describe the contract that exists in two case mathematics classrooms in Irish upper secondary schools (Senior Cycle). Although the authors are professional mathematics educators and well informed about classroom practice in Ireland, they were genuinely surprised by the very restrictive nature of this contract and the damaging consequences for students’ future mathematical education.     

Measurement model for division as a tool in computing applications

The paper describes the use of a spreadsheet in a mathematics teacher education course. It shows how the tool can serve as a link between seemingly disconnected mathematical concepts. The didactical triad of using a spreadsheet as an agent, consumer, and amplifier of mathematical activities allows for an extended investigation of simple yet intriguing properties of whole numbers. The authors argue that revisiting elementary content in a technological context enables pre-service teachers to appreciate the role that conceptual knowledge can play in the development of a spreadsheet-enabled pedagogy.     

排课问题分组优化决策中的CourseRank

时间表(T im etab ling)问题是NP-完全的,因此很难寻求一个有效的整体优化算法.分组作为重要的优化策略,可以将课程按优先等级逐次分组,每组再采用组合优化方法.通常认为课程的规模是优先等级的决定性因素.然而选课的模式允许学生在一定的范围内选择课程,这就使得课程的关联关系更复杂.该文将课程的关联关系描述为一个M arkov链,进而给出了课程优先度(CourseR ank)的概念.通过对清华大学2002年度学生选课数据的分析和计算,结果表明课程的规模仍然是重要的因素,但并不完全是决定性的.     

Spreadsheets and Bulgarian goats

We consider a problem appearing in an Australian Mathematics Challenge in 2003. This article considers whether a spreadsheet might be used to model this problem, thus allowing students to explore its structure within the spreadsheet environment. It then goes on to reflect on some general principles of problem decomposition when the final goal is a successful and lucid spreadsheet implementation.     

A statistical analysis on the effectiveness of using a computer algebra system in a developmental algebra course

We evaluate the effectiveness of using a Computer Algebra System (CAS) in an Intermediate Algebra course. We measure the effectiveness of using technology in this developmental course by comparing the grade distributions in a follow-up course of three groups: students who went through the technology based course, students who went through a traditional course, and students who were not required to take a developmental course. This study indicates that using a CAS is a very effective teaching tool for the developmental mathematics program. We found that the students in the developmental program which had the technology based course did at least as well as the students who did not need to take any developmental courses. This is a real improvement since we also found that students who took the traditional Intermediate. Algebra course did not do as well in subsequent courses as students who took the technology based course.     

The versatile spreadsheet

This paper considers how traditional topics in mathematics can be recast and given new insight by the use of spreadsheets. The concepts are taken from an undergraduate course in business mathematics and modelling. An example involving the study of a problem by differentials and the spreadsheet is given. The material developed is relevant to mathematics courses and to service‐type     

Impact of first-year mathematics study groups on the retention and graduation of engineering students

Many interventions have been proposed to improve the retention and graduation rates of engineering students. One such intervention is to use study groups for first-year college students; such groups provide a structured environment in which the students can learn course material from each other outside of class and can provide the students with a sense of community. In this paper, we report on the impacts fostered by study groups in first-year mathematics courses on the odds of retaining and graduating engineering students. Students who participated in the study groups are compared to students of similar academic preparation who did not participate in such groups. It is found that student participation in study groups is significantly associated with the higher odds of being retained in engineering studies through the first 3 years of college. The results reported here are not as certain for the effect of study group participation on 5-year graduation odds for engineering students and some possible reasons for this are discussed.     

NAMING A COLUMN ON A SPREADSHEET

Spreadsheets use a meaningful algebra-like notation which, research suggests, can support pupils in developing an understanding of variables. This paper discusses the activity of Year 8 pupils who were taught to name a column on a spreadsheet, and who were asked to reflect upon their activity in a stimulated recall interview. More specifically, it considers the pupils' understanding of notation, such as 'A2' and 'm', which they used when constructing spreadsheet formulae. It is suggested that experience of naming columns may help pupils to develop a clearer sense of the notation as a variable, and to make links between their spreadsheet activity and use of standard algebraic notation [1].     

Real-life curriculum-based timetabling with elective courses and course sections

This paper presents an innovative approach to curriculum-based timetabling. To capture complex relations of real life curriculum-based timetabling problems, curricula are defined by a rich model that includes optional courses and course groups among which students are expected to take a subset of courses. In addition, courses may contain alternative course sections. A transformation between the proposed curriculum model and student course enrollments is formalized and a local search algorithm generating corresponding enrollments is introduced. While the proposed curriculum model is too complicated for existing curriculum-based solvers, the transformation enables curriculum-based timetabling in any existing enrollment-based course timetabling solver. The approach was implemented in a well established enrollment-based course timetabling system UniTime. The system has been successfully applied in practice at the Faculty of Education at Masaryk University for about 7,500 students and 260 curricula and at the Faculty of Sports Studies at Masaryk University for about 1,400 students and 25 curricula. Experimental results related with these problems are demonstrated for two semesters.     

Computer programming in the UK undergraduate mathematics curriculum

This paper reports a study which investigated the extent to which undergraduate mathematics students in the United Kingdom are currently taught to programme a computer as a core part of their mathematics degree programme. We undertook an online survey, with significant follow-up correspondence, to gather data on current curricula and received replies from 46 (63%) of the departments who teach a BSc mathematics degree. We found that 78% of BSc degree courses in mathematics included computer programming in a compulsory module but 11% of mathematics degree programmes do not teach programming to all their undergraduate mathematics students. In 2016, programming is most commonly taught to undergraduate mathematics students through imperative languages, notably MATLAB, using numerical analysis as the underlying (or parallel) mathematical subject matter. Statistics is a very popular choice in optional courses, using the package R. Computer algebra systems appear to be significantly less popular for compulsory first-year courses than a decade ago, and there was no mention of logic programming, functional programming or automatic theorem proving software. The modal form of assessment of computing modules is entirely by coursework (i.e. no examination).     

What are We Developing? A Case Study of a College Mathematics Program

Over one‐third of all college mathematics enrollments are in courses considered to be developmental. While such courses have been the subject of a large body of research, one question that seems not to have been studied empirically is the alignment of the content of developmental and college level mathematics courses. This paper gives the results of such a study, conducted at a medium sized public liberal arts university. While the content of the developmental mathematics courses was used subsequently in the Precalculus course, most of the content of the Intermediate Algebra course was not used in other college level mathematics courses. It is hoped that the results of this paper will serve as a catalyst for other institutions to examine carefully and define the mission of both their developmental and college level mathematics courses.     

三大球专项体育课学生选课咨询系统的数学模型

培养学生终身体育锻炼习惯是大学体育课教学的一个目标，现今大学体育教育，在二、三年级为学生开设多项专项体育课，学生如何选课，学生是否适合此项运动，怎样使选课科学化，规范化，信息化，使学生选到适合自己一生锻炼的项目，是教学中的一个问题，我们通过研究给出了本中的数学模型。     

A modularized tablet-based approach to preparation for remedial mathematics

Basic arithmetic forms the foundation of the math courses that students will face in their undergraduate careers. It is therefore crucial that students have a solid understanding of these fundamental concepts. At an open-access university offering both two-year and four-year degrees, incoming freshmen who were identified as lacking in basic arithmetic skills were engaged in an experimental technology-enhanced workshop designed to provide them with a deeper understanding of arithmetic prior to their initial remedial coursework. Customized online content was created specifically for this experiment, and the first implementation (n = 27) yielded statistically significant improvement, not only from pre-test to post-test, but also in the subsequent remedial course. This paper also analyses the accuracy of students’ self-assessment from pre-test to post-test, as well as student attitudes about this experimental approach.     

Interactive Optimization Aspects of Electronic Spreadsheet Models for Design and Planning

This paper extends the discussion of the relationship between optimization and electronic spreadsheet modelling. Previous authors have described two connections. These are, first, the use of spreadsheets to facilitate optimization projects and, second, the use of optimization within the spreadsheet model itself such as for cell value computation. In this paper we argue that use of the spreadsheet model for planning and design problems often may actually be viewed as interactive multi-criterion optimization per se. This provides a third connection between optimization and spreadsheet models. We base our arguments on a simplified example arising in insurance consulting work and note other examples as well. We also propose a method for incorporating this observation into existing spreadsheet models and indicate desirable innovations in spreadsheet software.     

Graphical Representations of Speed: Obstacles Preservice K‐8 Teachers Experience

This study examines the difficulties college students experience when creating and interpreting graphs in which speed is one of the variables. Nineteen students, all preservice elementary or middle school teachers, completed an upper‐level course exploring algebraic concepts. Although all of these preservice teachers had previously completed several mathematics courses, including calculus, they demonstrated widespread misconceptions about the variable speed. This study identifies four cognitive obstacles held by the students, provides excerpts of their graphical constructions and verbal interpretations, and discusses potential causes for the confusion. In particular, misconceptions arose when students interpreted the behavior and nature of speed within a graphical context, as well as in situations where they were required to construct a graph involving speed as a variable. The study concludes by offering implications for the teaching and learning of speed and its interpretation within a graphical setting.     

A comparison of analytic and knowledge-based approaches to closed-shop scheduling

This paper compares three different approaches to scheduling in a closed-shop environment, making the case for a knowledge-based approach. A manufacturing example from the food industry is used as a vehicle for the presentation. The first approach attempts to find an optimal solution using a mixed integer linear programming formulation, but the size of the problem renders this approach impractical. The second approach uses a spreadsheet program to obtain feasible solutions, but imbedded assumptions in the heuristics used allow it to be used only for simple demand patterns. The third approach employs expert systems technology. It includes several heuristics and takes all constraints into consideration. The solution obtained may not be optimal, but computational tests suggest that it is far superior to both spreadsheet and manual approaches.