The hanging rope problem is considered. The rope is subject to rotation with the rotation axis being parallel to the rope. Using a continuum model and the basic principles of dynamics, the differential equation governing the motion is derived. The dynamic equilibrium case without vibrational motion is assumed in deriving the equation. The equation…

Mathematical modelling can be described as "[…] the process of translating between the real world and mathematics in both directions" (Blum & Ferri, 2009, p. 45). Both students and teachers often find mathematical modelling challenging. Thus, it is important that future teachers are aware of the challenges their students might…

Mathematical modelling is an interlinking process between mathematics and real-world problems that can be applied as a means to increase motivation, develop cognitive competencies, and enhance the ability to transfer mathematical knowledge to other areas of science, such as engineering disciplines. This study was designed to investigate the effect…

Background/purpose: This study aims to analyze students' ability to solve differential calculus problems in relation to their prior mathematical knowledge (PMK). Materials/methods: A qualitative research design method was employed. Participants in this study were 103 third-semester students at the university enrolled in the Differential Calculus…

Problem solving in chemical kinetics poses substantial challenges for university students since it often involves significant use of mathematics as a tool and language, with challenging translations and transitions between chemical phenomena and mathematical representations. In this paper, we present key findings from a study investigating…

This study aimed to explore preservice elementary teachers' use of a bar model as a heuristic for conceptualising relationships between quantities in situations involving ratio and percentages. As a part of a larger project, we focused on two preservice teachers, Maia and Jane, and investigated their solution paths in ratio and percentage problems…

This paper contributes to accumulating the knowledge base about prospective elementary school teachers' (PTs') understanding of socio-critical modeling by exploring how PTs make connections to features of mathematical modeling and social justice while posing mathematical problems and reflecting on their problem-posing. We present a conceptual…

Background: In professional contexts, engineers use engineering judgment to create mathematical models. Despite the importance of judgment in professional practice, the development and enactment of engineering judgment by engineering students are understudied. To better prepare students for engineering careers, there is a need to recognize and…

This research presents the results of the implementation of a model-eliciting activity called Brickyards, designed to promote the learning of the binomial distribution. The theoretical framework used was the Models and Modeling Perspective, and the participants were undergraduate students enrolled in a probability and statistics course of the…

In this paper, we explore the role that examples play as mathematicians formulate conjectures, and we describe and exemplify one particular example-related activity that we observed in interviews with thirteen mathematicians. During our interviews, mathematicians productively used examples as they formulated conjectures, particularly by creating…

Mathematization is a critical competency in the modelling process. This study aims to elicit prospective mathematics teachers' mathematizing through the analysis of their solution approaches to a modelling problem related to the bales of straw. This study was conducted with 75 fourth-year prospective mathematics teachers (PMTs) enrolled in a…

Although culturally responsive mathematics teaching is important, post-secondary education for preservice teachers (PTs) does not typically lead to learning opportunities for them to use mathematics to recognize the roles of social agents. To address this issue, we created a culturally responsive mathematical modeling task in which we invited PTs…

This article makes a case for introducing moving averages into introductory statistics courses and contemporary modeling/data-based courses in college algebra and precalculus. The authors examine a variety of aspects of moving averages and draw parallels between them and similar topics in calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. The…

This research contributes to the need to identify and expand learning environments that encourage undergraduate students to develop collaborative work skills and apply their classroom knowledge to solve real-world problems. Using qualitative methods, we examine the effects of the interaction between two teams of students when solving a…

Special tutorials both online and off-line were experimented in order to provide extra support for the senior pre-service mathematics teachers at an Australian regional university to improve their learning experience and achieve the best possible learning outcomes in an advanced mathematics course focusing on solving ordinary differential…