What happens when a climber falls? Young climbers mathematise a climbing situation
Journal Title: European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - Year 2017, Vol 5, Issue 1
Abstract
Students in Norway and other countries experience vectors as a difficult topic. Four young skilled climbers, who all did well in mathematics at school, participated in the Vector Study (VS). They participated for free and each lesson lasted until the students decided it was over. The idea was to investigate how climbing may function as a basis for students’ development of a vector concept. The teaching goal was the parallelogram law of vector addition. The students investigated what happens when a climber falls. They discussed the situation, and they tested it out in practice. They also performed a supporting activity, a rope?pulling situation, which provides insight into what happens in the climbing situation. The students’ development is analysed by identifying a) Bishop’s six basic activities, b) the role of angles, and c) manipulation of mental objects. The analysis reveals that relations between a vector’s magnitude and direction was central in the students’ investigations. It is important that students develop two aspects of vectors before the parallelogram law of addition is introduced. These are a) relations between angles and vectors, and b) the zero vector.
Authors and Affiliations
Anne Birgitte Fyhn| Department of education, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway For correspondence: anne.fyhn@uit.no
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP8127
- DOI -
- Views 422
- Downloads 26
Perceived teacher factors in relation to students’ achievementrelated outcomes in science classrooms in elementary school
The purpose of the current study was to investigate the roles that perceived teacher affective support (PTAS), perceived teacher mastery goal orientation (PTMGO), academic emotions, self?efficacy and behavioural engageme...
Using a simulation game to make learning about angles meaningful. an exploratory study in primary school
As indicated in numerous research studies, schoolchildren encounter many difficulties and obstacles in learning the multifaceted concept of the angle. In order to explore the possibility of enhancing schoolchildren’s und...
Adaptation of conceptions of learning science questionnaire into Turkish and science teacher candidates’ conceptions of learning science
The purposes of this study were to (1) adapt an instrument ‚The Conceptions of Learning Science (COLS) questionnaire? into Turkish, and (2) to determine Turkish science teacher candidates’ COLS. Adapting the instrument f...
School-related factors contributing to the delivery enhancement of the special science program in Western Visayas, Philippines
In this mixed-method study, the secondary schools in Western Visayas, Philippines offering special science program (SSP) were assessed as basis for delivery enhancement. The SSP along student-related factors and the exte...
Improving the teaching of science through discipline-based education research: An example from physics
Research on the learning and teaching of science is an important field for scholarly inquiry by faculty in science departments. Such research has proved to be an efficient means for improving the effectiveness of instruc...