In this paper, we continue describing the project and the experimentation of "Ricerca Operativa Applicazioni Reali" (ROAR; in English, Real Applications of Operations Research), a three-year project for higher secondary schools, introduced. ROAR is composed of three teaching units, addressed to Grades 10, 11, and 12, respectively, having…

We introduce "Ricerca Operativa Applicazioni Reali" (ROAR; in English, "Real Applications of Operations Research"), a three-year project for higher secondary schools. Its main aim is to improve students' interest, motivation, and skills related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics disciplines by integrating…

Operations Research (OR) is a branch of applied mathematics that deals with optimization problems arising from different real contexts. The solving process of its problems is based on the construction and resolution of mathematical models, showing the possible connections between mathematics and the real world. Nevertheless, OR is not typically…

In this paper the results of a questionnaire about mathematics teachers' inclusion in their teaching of mathematical modelling and problem posing are presented. To make teachers able to choose a coherent teaching method for a mathematical topic, teachers' knowledge of valuable methods for the teaching of mathematics should be fostered. In this…

The role of mathematical modelling pertains several disciplines, both STEM and non-STEM, and various fields: education, academy, work, everyday and social life. Despite its importance, it is not uncommon to see university students facing difficulties with the use of Mathematics to create models, even when mathematical entities that play a role in…

In 2020, Year 12 students at John Curtin College of the Arts, were required to model COVID-19 data from five different countries in order to find correlations between daily infections and unemployment rates, in order to make future predictions. Work received from students demonstrated how the task successfully provided unique learning…

Many literature studies point out how the process that moves the student from personal reasoning to the arrangement of fruitful argument could help them in the development of mathematical argumentative thinking. Starting from the above assumptions, in this paper we investigate the interaction among teacher/researcher and students in a Digital…

The professional development of teachers is a task recognized by the European parliament and pursued by many institutions, both national and international ones. The support to teachers in STEM disciplines was one of the aims of the Erasmus+ SMART (Science and Mathematics Advanced Research for good Teaching) project, born in a European context,…

A relevant aim of research in education is to find and study the reasoning lines that students deploy when dealing with problematic situations. This can be done through an analysis of the answers students give to a questionnaire. In this paper, we discuss some methodological aspects involved in the quantitative analysis of a questionnaire by means…

In two experiments, participants judged the average numerosity between two sequentially presented dot patterns to perform an approximate arithmetic task. In Experiment 1, the response was given on a 0-20 numerical scale (categorical scaling), and in Experiment 2, the response was given by the production of a dot pattern of the desired numerosity…

The aim of this paper is to present a shortened version of the SIS (support intensity scale) obtained by the application of mathematical models and instruments, adopting special algorithms based on the most recent developments in artificial adaptive systems. All the variables of SIS applied to 1,052 subjects with ID (intellectual disabilities)…

Uses 1995 Italian household income and wealth survey to measure individual absolute risk aversion of 1,583 married Italian male household heads. Uses this measure as an instrument for attained education in a standard-log earnings equation. Finds that the IV estimate of the marginal return to schooling is much higher than the ordinary least squares…

This study investigates whether or not the factor structure of reading comprehension is invariant across large, nationally representative samples of 14-year-old students from four different countries. The data from French-speaking Belgium, Hungary, Italy, and the United States were collected as part of the Reading Literacy Study of 1990-91,…

The report describes a mathematical modelling activity of a natural phenomenon (transmission of hereditary characters in a codominance case) using the concept of model as a theoretical instrument. The chosen tool enables us to show how the construction of a link between reality and a model is related to the evolution of the graphical…

Criticizes the current method of formalization in Italian schools and the use of tools of the mathematical method. Proposes a general three-stage formalization method which can used for physical quantities, the particular significance of certain quantities, and the description and interpretation of phenomena. (TW)