Proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education · Volume 1
Stefanie Rach, Marielena Menzel, Sebastian Geisler, Timo Kosiol
University of Magdeburg
⬇ Download PDFMathematizing real-world problems is a crucial skill in modern society, yet challenging for many students. We examine variations in students’ mathematization processes and the conditions under which they successfully formulate a mathematical function for a real-world problem represented by data. In this experimental study, 561 upper secondary students model the decay of beer foam using one of the following data types: self-collected experimental data, provided experimental data, or smoothed data. Additionally, we collected students’ mathematics grades, and assessed their content knowledge about functions. The findings suggest significant differences in students’ mathematization approaches, partially related to their content knowledge and the data type provided. We discuss strategies to enhance this crucial skill.
mathematizationdata-based modellingreal datacontent knowledge