The notion of function is central in all of the secondary curriculum, and indeed functional models appear in almost all higher education that is based on mathematics. However, in secondary education, functions usually appear in restricted and somewhat sterile forms. In this (mostly theoretical) paper, we present a proposal -- exemplified by a…

This study is a contribution to efforts to promote practices for dealing with the difficulties encountered by learners in probabilistic modeling situations. We attempt to elucidate as precisely as possible the types of difficulties that secondary school students face in the process of modeling with probability tools. By referring to a large and…

A standard element of the undergraduate ordinary differential equations course is the topic of separable equations. For instructors of those courses, we present here a series of novel modeling scenarios that prove to be a compelling motivation for the utility of differential equations. Furthermore, the growing complexity of the models leads to the…

Calculus education research on integration is coalescing around the theme that teaching integration based on quantitative reasoning is crucial for robust understanding of and usage of integrals. This paper contributes to this International Journal for Research in Undergraduate Education special issue on the teaching and learning of definite…

Mathematical concepts are regularly used in media reports concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. These include growth models, which attempt to explain or predict the effectiveness of interventions and developments, as well as the reproductive factor. Our contribution has the aim of showing that basic mental models about exponential growth are important…

There is a growing attention around the preparation of pre-service teachers (PSTs) as both learners and teachers of mathematical modeling. Current literature focuses on preparing PSTs as learners of modeling, and we extend current work by examining how PSTs integrate their understanding of modeling into the work of teaching. This study follows two…

This study aims to clarify the role of generating questions in mathematical modeling and construct principles for teaching and learning mathematical modeling with an emphasis on generating questions. To achieve this purpose, the role of generating questions was determined by solving a sprinkler problem and considering the investigation process.…

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…

In this paper, we introduce novel instructional approaches to engage students in using modelling with data to motivate and teach differential equations. Specifically, we introduce a pedagogical framework that will execute instructional modules to teach different solution techniques for differential equations through repositories and notebook…

Studies have found that some teacher professional development programs that are based on Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) can increase student mathematics achievement. The mechanism through which those effects are realized has been theorized, but more empirical study is needed. In service of this need, we designed a novel measure of…

Several new approaches to calculus in the U.S. have been studied recently that are grounded in infinitesimals or differentials rather than limits. These approaches seek to restore to differential notation the direct referential power it had during the first century after calculus was developed. In these approaches, a differential equation like dy…

In this study, we examined one experienced mathematician's class practices, with particular attention to cognitive model described in genetic decomposition. Our findings indicate that students only had limited opportunities to be familiar with the first three steps in genetic decomposition, which may potentially lead students to answer limit tasks…

Differential equations are widely used tools for modelling the world around us, making a course in differential equations a natural place for students to connect concrete mathematical applications to abstract concepts. Since students grasp the concepts better by applying them, introducing differential equations through modelling becomes essential.…

Transfer functions are convenient representations to analyse cause-and-effect relationships of linear time-invariant dynamic systems. Traditionally, transfer functions are introduced using the Laplace transform. In this paper, we argue that the Laplace transform method is not a necessary prerequisite to understanding the topic 'transfer…

This article presents ways to explore mathematical concepts using Catan, a popular board game. After a brief overview of game play, we explore considerations with many potential entry points for mathematical modeling, such as which resource is the best, which resources will be rare or plentiful, where to build, and risk assessment.