Learning the Basics with Calculus

Autor/in	Stroup, Walter M.
Titel	Learning the Basics with Calculus
Quelle	In: Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 24 (2005) 2, S.179-196 (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0731-9258
Schlagwörter	Teaching Methods; Educational Technology; Mathematics Curriculum; Calculus; Mathematics Education; Computer Software; Computer Simulation; Economically Disadvantaged; Advanced Courses + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Unterrichtsmedien; Analysis; Differenzialrechnung; Infinitesimalrechnung; Integralrechnung; Mathematische Bildung; Computergrafik; Computersimulation; Fortgeschrittenenunterricht
Abstract	A critical issue related to the use of simulation environments in school-based learning is the relationship between the use of these environments and the structure of traditional curricula. Teachers are often caught in the bind of attempting to address significantly raised standards for what all students should know, yet receiving very little support to innovate in their use of simulations in their approaches to teaching. Particularly challenging for practitioners and school-based researchers alike is the expectation that students should first master "the basics" before engaging innovation related to learning advanced content such as calculus. This paper summarizes years of work related to the early learning of the mathematics of change. The goal is to resolve this tension by suggesting that advanced mathematics, embodied in an accessible simulation environment, helps situate and deepen students' understanding of the basics as they typically are encountered in the traditional mathematics curriculum. Selected episodes transcribed from work in economically challenged schools in the United States are used to illustrate the practical potential of this reconsideration of the relationships between basic and advanced topics. The delta-blocks approach to the mathematics of change, making use of widely available forms of technology and the "MathWorlds" simulation software, is introduced and illustrated. (Contains 8 figures.) (Author).
Anmerkungen	Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, P.O. Box 1545, Chesapeake, VA 23327-1545. Tel: 757-366-5606.
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10