Mathematics teachers are often keen to find ways of connecting mathematics with the real world. One way to do so is to teach mathematical modelling using real data. Mathematical models have two components: a model structure and parameters within that structure. Real data can be used in one of two ways for each component: (a) to…

This study explores secondary mathematics teachers' perceptions of the experiences that contributed to their capacities to understand mathematical modeling and to facilitate students' modeling experiences. The retrospective research methods and transformative learning theory frame used in the study honor teachers as adult learners and value their…

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…

Seeking to leverage students' interests into mathematical tasks and noticing how their students excitedly discussed the NCAA's Division 1-A football rankings every year, the authors devised a mathematical modeling task in which students could use mathematics to justify their rankings. The task takes students on a journey to consider the complexity…

Obtaining reliable and timely estimates of migration flows is critical for advancing the migration theory and guiding policy decisions, but it remains a challenge. Digital data provide granular information on time and space, but do not draw from representative samples of the population, leading to biased estimates. We propose a method for…

The following study shows how reparameterizations and constraints of the general linear model can serve to parse quantitative and qualitative aspects of predictors. We demonstrate three different approaches. The study uses data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 on mathematics course-taking and achievement as an example. Results show…

Limited research has been conducted on the influence of computational thinking (CT) dispositions on students' mathematics performance and engagement at the secondary or junior high school level. This study aims to bridge this research gap by developing CT-integrated mathematics lessons that incorporate CT-focused problem-solving and modeling in…

Real-world mathematical problem (RWMP) solving and posing are important aspects of teaching and learning mathematical modelling, as well as developing a mathematization disposition for both teachers and students. Several researchers have explored blockages or difficulties in such modelling processes and in problem posing. However, prior research…

The aim of this study is to investigate the types of teacher and peer interventions to test the validity of modelling along with the modelers' reactions to these interventions. A teaching experiment was employed in the study. Forty-five pre-service secondary school mathematics teachers participated in the research. As a data collection tool, a…

This article provides conceptual ideas, data, and exercises, for integrating original sources of recent, state of the art, world-class life science research in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum and classroom. To this end, this article shows how one of the main goals of calculus in the life sciences, fitting parameters to data and assessing…

Mathematical word problems, sometimes called story problems, are generally defined as "verbal descriptions of problem situations, presented within a scholastic setting, wherein one or more questions are raised the answer to which can be obtained by the application of mathematical operations to numerical data available in the problem statement…

This article is about utilizing the process of building and exploiting models as a framework for inquiry in mathematics education research. We introduce and discuss a model of such a process and compare this model with key methodological features of design research in mathematics education. We argue that despite several communalities, educational…

Contribution: Two general rules for calculating, in the time domain, step discontinuities of voltages and currents in electric circuits, combining physical principles and basic mathematical treatment. The two general rules, resulting from a formal method of analysis, provide a straightforward way to update the states of a circuit, immediately…

Two examples of mathematical modelling are explored. Firstly, optimising the distance travelled when jumping from a swing is discussed. The second concerns optimising the distance travelled by monkeys when swinging from branch to branch.

Creating and developing mathematical models to solve real-world problems is a complex task and students often have difficulties in tackling it successfully. The design and implementation of sequences that help students autonomously develop their ability to solve modelling tasks could be a useful scaffolding tool to foster modelling learning. In…