This article describes a method for using the United States Census data to open a differential equations course. The question of finding a model for the United States population data gives students a first experience with creating a model using differential equations, and also understanding derivatives, what they mean, and how to calculate them in…

This paper describes an activity using a dog treat ball to introduce systems of first-order differential equations. Beads are placed in the first of two hemispherical chambers of a food-dispensing dog toy. As the ball is turned, students track the number of beads in the first chamber, the second chamber, and the exterior of the ball. Students…

In the first part of the dialogue between theories, which gave rise to a paper in this journal, we discussed the role played by normativity in didactics. In this work, with the aim of taking a step forward in this dialogue, we state explicitly some of the postulates of the anthropological theory of the didactic. They shape the object of study, the…

We share our experience and lessons learned from using Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigations and Opportunities with Differential Equations (SIMIODE) modeling scenarios in our Differential Equations I class at Middle Tennessee State University. Specific projects with Python codes are presented. Discussions are brought forth on how to…

This article reports on the results of an investigation of the predictive accuracy of five different mathematical models to identify at-risk students in a Business Statistics course. Low levels of students' success, especially in mathematics-related subjects such as statistics, are a salient problem in South Africa and other countries. Statistical…

The formation of students' social competence in the course of educational process in virtual educational environment represents an urgent pedagogical problem. The author proposes to present the development level of students' social competence through introducing certain variables determined on a relative scale into a mathematical model of the…

In this article, the authors describe their experiences with planning, implementing, and revising a lesson for which the goal is for students to consider the mathematical and pragmatic issues that are related to a task of maximizing the area for a fixed perimeter. The authors also wanted students to engage in the Standards for Mathematical…

This study presents a teaching experiment in which second-grade primary school students compared a city and a town according to population estimates. The activities were presented to them as Fermi problems and required an analysis of the reality to identify sub-problems that students could deal with. The students' products were analyzed from the…

We propose a new approach to classroom learning based on sequential numeral-division. It builds on the concept of trichotomy -- division of students based on creamy-level, middle-level and weaker-level students -- proposed by the present authors. A sequenced series of formative assessments can map student progress and achievement, particularly in…

This article sets out design principles to consider when student mathematics teachers are expected to learn mathematical modelling during their formal education. Blum and Leiß's modelling cycle provided the theoretical framework to explain the modelling process. Learning to teach mathematical modelling, and learning to solve modelling tasks, while…

Ethnomathematics can empirically improve the cognitive abilities of students in elementary and secondary schools. However, in undergraduate study, there are still limited studies on integrating ethnomathematics in learning resources. This study aims to apply interpolation in modelling polynomial functions and integral volume on the shape of…

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…

We study flexible Bayesian methods that are amenable to a wide range of learning problems involving complex high dimensional data structures, with minimal tuning. We consider parametric and semiparametric Bayesian models, that are applicable to both static and dynamic data, arising from a multitude of areas such as economics, finance and…

It remains a challenge for teachers to integrate modeling tasks in everyday mathematics classes. Many studies have been conducted that show the difficulties faced by teachers. One of the challenging aspects in this regard is that of assessment. In the present study, a connection between structures of learners' solution strategies and cognitive…

This study is an investigation of elementary preservice teachers' (PSTs') exploration of model breaking points in fractions. Eighty-three PSTs at two universities in the Midwestern and Southwestern regions of the USA were asked to explore the area model of fraction addition through a series of tasks and explain their reasoning in determining its…