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What is mathematical modelling? Exploring prospective teachers’ use of experiments to connect mathematics to the study of motion

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Abstract

This paper focuses on the construction, development, and use of mathematical models by prospective science and mathematics teachers enrolled in a university physics course. By studying their involvement in an inquiry-based, experimental approach to learning kinematics, we address a fundamental question about the meaning and role of abstraction in modelling when such approaches involve students encountering and resolving experimental error. We use a “tensions” framework to explore the capability of learners to make necessary connections between abstract mathematical models and physical phenomena.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, EDUC 811, 79968, El Paso, Texas, USA

    David J. Carrejo

  2. Department of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station D5700, 78712, Austin, TX, USA

    Jill Marshall

Authors
  1. David J. Carrejo
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  2. Jill Marshall
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Carrejo, D.J., Marshall, J. What is mathematical modelling? Exploring prospective teachers’ use of experiments to connect mathematics to the study of motion. Math Ed Res J 19, 45–76 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03217449

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