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Students’ Mathematical Learning in Modelling Activities

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Teaching Mathematical Modelling: Connecting to Research and Practice

Abstract

Ten years of experience with analyses of students’ learning in a modelling course for first year university students, led us to see modelling as a didactical activity with the dual goal of developing students’ modelling competency and enhancing their conceptual learning of mathematical concepts involved. We argue that progress in students’ conceptual learning needs to be conceptualised separately from that of progress in their modelling competency. Findings are that modelling activities open a window to the students’ images of the mathematical concepts involved; that modelling activities can create and help overcome hidden cognitive conflicts in students’ understanding; that reflections within modelling can play an important role for the students’ learning of mathematics. These findings are illustrated with a modelling project concerning the world population.

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References

  • Blomhøj, M., & Kjeldsen, T. H. (2010a). Learning mathematics through modelling – The case of the integral concept. In B. Sriraman, C. Bergsten, S. Goodchild, G. Pálsdóttir, B. Dahl, & L. Haapasalo (Eds.), The first sourcebook on Nordic research in mathematics education (pp. 569–581). Montana: Information Age Publishing.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IMFUFA, Department of Science, Systems, and Models, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Morten Blomhøj & Tinne Hoff Kjeldsen

Authors
  1. Morten Blomhøj
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  2. Tinne Hoff Kjeldsen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Morten Blomhøj .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Education VIC | Faculty of Education, Australian Catholic University, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

    Gloria Ann Stillman

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Gabriele Kaiser

  3. Department of Mathematics, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany

    Werner Blum

  4. Education VIC | Faculty of Education, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Jill P. Brown

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Blomhøj, M., Kjeldsen, T.H. (2013). Students’ Mathematical Learning in Modelling Activities. In: Stillman, G., Kaiser, G., Blum, W., Brown, J. (eds) Teaching Mathematical Modelling: Connecting to Research and Practice. International Perspectives on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematical Modelling. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6540-5_12

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