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Using mathematical inquiry to engage student learning within the overall curriculum
Citation
Fielding-Wells, J and Makar, K, Using mathematical inquiry to engage student learning within the overall curriculum, Proceedings of the 11th International Congress on Mathematical Education, 6 - 13 July 2008, Mexico, pp. 1-17. (2008) [Refereed Conference Paper]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2008 The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction
Official URL: http://www.academia.edu/1210066/Using_mathematical...
Abstract
Mathematics is often perceived as a stand-alone subject in the school curriculum. When used as a tool to examine cross-curricular content, mathematics can enable deeper understanding of the context under investigation (Makar & Confrey, 2007). A study was designed to investigate opportunities and challenges that emerged when students addressed authentic interdisciplinary problems using an inquiry-based approach. This paper aims to identify aspects of students’ engagement across two cohorts of a year 5 (age 9-10) classroom in Australia. Using a framework developed by Kong, Wong & Lam (2003), the paper discusses students’ affective, behavioural, and cognitive engagement with mathematics during four integrated curriculum units over the course of a year. Results suggest that in both cohorts, students initially struggled with the shift from teacher-directed to student-driven learning within an inquiry-based, interdisciplinary environment. By the end of each year, however, the students had developed observable improvement in their ability to engage on multiple dimensions within the framework with ill-structured mathematical problems encountered across content areas. Implications for mathematics education research are addressed.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Conference Paper |
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Keywords: | mathematics education, inquiry-based learning, engagement |
Research Division: | Education |
Research Group: | Curriculum and pedagogy |
Research Field: | Mathematics and numeracy curriculum and pedagogy |
Objective Division: | Education and Training |
Objective Group: | Teaching and curriculum |
Objective Field: | Pedagogy |
UTAS Author: | Fielding-Wells, J (Dr Jill Wells) |
ID Code: | 88310 |
Year Published: | 2008 |
Deposited By: | Education |
Deposited On: | 2014-01-28 |
Last Modified: | 2014-08-14 |
Downloads: | 5 View Download Statistics |
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