Mathematical modelling emphasizes the connection between mathematics and reality -- still, tasks are often exclusively introduced inside the classroom. The paper examines the potential of different task settings for mathematical modelling with real objects: outdoors at the real object itself, with photographs and with a 3D model representation. It…

In the study, it was aimed to examine the activities in the Secondary School Mathematics Practices course books taught within the scope of mathematics practices course in Turkey and published by the Ministry of National Education, according to the principles of Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) design. For this purpose, document analysis technique,…

Based on an investigation of research literature on the role of mathematics within the context of STEM education and twenty-first century skills, this explorative study presents and analyses 19 pre-service teachers' lesson proposals for innovative STEM activities in secondary mathematics classrooms. Drawing on a categorisation of twenty-first…

Incorporating modeling activities into classroom instruction requires flexibility with pedagogical content knowledge and the ability to understand and interpret students' thinking, skills that teachers often develop through experience. One way to support preservice mathematics teachers' (PSMTs) proficiency with mathematical modeling is by…

As students develop algebraic reasoning in grades 5 to 9, they learn to recognize patterns and understand expressions, equations, and variables. Linear functions are a focus in eighth-grade mathematics, and by algebra 1, students must make sense of functions that are not linear. This article describes how students worked through a classroom task…

Mathematical modeling, a focus of the Common Core State Standards for School Mathematics (CCSSI 2010) and one of the Standards for Mathematical Practice, is generally considered to be the process of exploring a real-world situation and making sense of it using mathematics (Lesh and Zawojewski 2007). Teachers need to create opportunities for…

In mathematics, students should represent, model, and work with such real-world situations as those found in the physical world, the public policy realm, and society (CCSSI 2010). Additionally, students need to make decisions and be flexible enough to improve their decisions after analyzing realistic situations. The LEGO® Pets activity does just…

The phenomenon of outbreaks of dangerous diseases is both intriguing to students and of mathematical significance, which is exactly why the authors engaged eighth graders in an introductory activity on the growth that occurs as an epidemic spreads. Various contexts can set the stage for such an exploration. Reading adolescent literature like…

This article describes the use of digital images of real-life phenomena and interactive software to carry out mathematics investigations. (Contains 13 figures.)

This study analyzed the processes used by students when engaged in modeling activities and examined how students' abilities to solve modeling problems changed over time. Two student populations, one experimental and one control group, participated in the study. To examine students' modeling processes, the experimental group participated in an…

The action in a British sporting event (bumping races) was used to motivate a simple method of computing the correlation between starting and finishing positions. The method is generalized to other situations. (SD)

Methods of constructing polyhedra models are described. (DT)

Using a staircase to introduce the concept of slope is discussed. (DT)

Finding the shortest route between two points can be approached by vector methods. Several types of matrices modelling a map of 6 cities are described. (SD)

Explores the use of computers for teaching mathematical models of transposition ciphers. Illustrates the ideas, includes activities and extensions, provides a mathematical model and includes computer programs to implement these topics. (MVL)