Understanding Prospective Teachers’ Mathematical Modeling Processes in the Context of a Mathematical Modeling Course

Aysel Sen Zeytun; Bülent Çetinkaya; A. Kursat ERBAS

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2017.00639a

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Aysel Sen Zeytun ¹ ^* , Bülent Çetinkaya ², A. Kursat ERBAS ²

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¹ Istanbul Aydın University² Middle East Technical University^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background:
This paper investigates how prospective teachers develop mathematical models while they engage in modeling tasks.

Material and methods:
The study was conducted on an undergraduate elective course aiming to improve prospective teachers’ mathematical modeling abilities, while providing them with pedagogical knowledge for the integrating of modeling tasks into their future classroom practices. The participants of this study were six prospective teachers selected among the nineteen who enrolled in the course. Data was collected through five modeling tasks.

Results:
The results showed that the prospective teachers went through five main stages during the modeling process: understanding the task, devising a solution plan, performing the plan, interpreting and verifying the model, and presenting the model.

Conclusions:
The nature of prospective teachers’ modeling processes was rather result-oriented, consisting of a single cycle as they did not seek an improved solution by revising and refining their models.

Keywords

mathematical modeling
mathematics education
modeling process
prospective teachers

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2017, Volume 13, Issue 3, 691-722

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00639a

Publication date: 06 Dec 2016

Article Views: 2640

Article Downloads: 3422

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How to cite this article

APA

Sen Zeytun, A., Çetinkaya, B., & ERBAS, A. K. (2017). Understanding Prospective Teachers’ Mathematical Modeling Processes in the Context of a Mathematical Modeling Course. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(3), 691-722. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00639a

Vancouver

Sen Zeytun A, Çetinkaya B, ERBAS AK. Understanding Prospective Teachers’ Mathematical Modeling Processes in the Context of a Mathematical Modeling Course. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2017;13(3):691-722. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00639a

AMA

Sen Zeytun A, Çetinkaya B, ERBAS AK. Understanding Prospective Teachers’ Mathematical Modeling Processes in the Context of a Mathematical Modeling Course. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2017;13(3), 691-722. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00639a

Chicago

Sen Zeytun, Aysel, Bülent Çetinkaya, and A. Kursat ERBAS. "Understanding Prospective Teachers’ Mathematical Modeling Processes in the Context of a Mathematical Modeling Course". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2017 13 no. 3 (2017): 691-722. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00639a

Harvard

Sen Zeytun, A., Çetinkaya, B., and ERBAS, A. K. (2017). Understanding Prospective Teachers’ Mathematical Modeling Processes in the Context of a Mathematical Modeling Course. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(3), pp. 691-722. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00639a

MLA

Sen Zeytun, Aysel et al. "Understanding Prospective Teachers’ Mathematical Modeling Processes in the Context of a Mathematical Modeling Course". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 13, no. 3, 2017, pp. 691-722. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00639a