Abstract
Mathematics and physics show a complex interplay. This implies a special role of mathematics in physics as well as in physics education. Here, mathematics seems mostly to be present in the use of formulae and to play an important role in routine problem solving. However, beyond a technical role of mathematics also its structural role, providing insight into the nature of physics, is important for scientific literacy. This aspect leads to the question which views on the interplay teachers have, what guides them in enacting suitable teaching learning processes in the classroom, and which strategies they apply in order to introduce and facilitate the use of mathematics (diagrams and algebraic expressions) in physics lessons. This question was tackled from two sides: inductively by empirical research, and deductively by theoretical analysis. In a first step theoretical considerations led to a model describing specific aspects of pedagogical content knowledge required for adequately teaching the interplay of mathematics and physics. In order to validate it and to identify typical views of teachers half structured interviews with teachers of mathematics and physics of different degree of experience were conducted. The questions were very open in order to explore the field and obtain a wide range of views. From the interviews we could identify several types of teachers’ views differing in the importance they give to the technical or structural role of mathematics.
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Pospiech, G., Lehavi, Y., Bagno, E., Eylon, BS. (2019). Views and Strategies of Teachers Concerning the Role of Mathematics and Physics in Physics Lessons. In: McLoughlin, E., van Kampen, P. (eds) Concepts, Strategies and Models to Enhance Physics Teaching and Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18137-6_16
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