Abstract
This article discusses an activity designed to encourage writing to learn in mathematics. There were three stages of data collection. An assessment, requiring basic algebra only, was completed by118 undergraduates from statistics and calculus courses. Students were given summaries of all participant responses, along with the correct answers. After discussing the results, 25 students wrote about the underlying concepts needed to answer the questions correctly and 38 gave reasons someone might answer the questions incorrectly. The written responses were easy to evaluate and revealed much about misunderstandings. A follow-up survey was given to students to elicit their attitudes.
Résumé
Cet article décrit une activité conçue pour encourager l’écriture à des fins d’apprentissage en mathématiques. La cueillette des données a été réalisée en trois étapes. Une évaluation, qui demandait des notions d’algèbre de base seulement, a été complétée par 118 étudiants dans des cours de statistiques et de calcul différentiel et intégral. Les étudiants ont reçu un résumé de toutes les réponses des participants, ainsi que le corrigé. Après avoir analysé les résultats, 25 étudiants se sont exprimés par écrit sur les concepts sous-jacents nécessaires pour répondre correctement aux questions, alors que 38 autres ont expliqué par écrit les raisons pour lesquelles certaines personnes pouvaient avoir donné des réponses incorrectes. Les commentaires écrits se sont avérés faciles à évaluer et très révélateurs pour ce qui est des incompréhensions. Un questionnaire de suivi a été administré aux étudiants pour connaître leur attitude.
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Van Dyke, F., Malloy, E.J. & Stallings, V. An Activity to Encourage Writing in Mathematics. Can J Sci Math Techn 14, 371–387 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1080/14926156.2014.962711
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14926156.2014.962711