Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Διδακτική και Μεθοδολογία των ΜαθηματικώνLibrary of the School of Science
Author:
Liosi Zoi-Venetia
Supervisors info:
Χρυσαυγή Τριανταφύλλου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Μαθηματικών ΕΚΠΑ, (επιβλέπουσα),
Δ. Πόταρη Καθηγήτρια Τμήμα Μαθηματικών ΕΚΠΑ,
Γ. Ψυχάρης Επικ. Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Μαθηματικών ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Επίλυση αυθεντικών προβλημάτων μέσω βιωματικών δραστηριοτήτων: Μια εφαρμογή σε μαθητές που διδάσκονται σε διαφορετικά εκπαιδευτικά συστήματα
Translated title:
Solving authentic problems through experiential learning activities: An application to students taught in different educational systems
Summary:
This research is based on authentic problem solving by high school students through
experiential activities. Learning through problem solving activities has improved students' problem solving ability as well as their confidence in starting the solving process. More recent research suggests that problem solving through experiential activities enhances students' creativity and interest in mathematics. However, there is a limited amount of research that studies problem solving processes through experiential activities in different educational systems.
In this thesis two teaching methods in different educational systems are analysed and
compared: teaching in the 2nd grade of a typical Greek school and teaching in the 8th grade of an American school. The problem given to the students concerns the calculation of the height of their classroom or of a structure of their own construction. The students used measurement tools such as a protractor. In their efforts, students were asked to engage in modeling practices using trigonometric numbers. The paper studied the two instructional designs, the teacher-student interactions, and the strategies used by the students in the two schools. The research topic was the study of lessons involving experiential activities in the two educational systems and the influences we recognize due to the differences in their institutional frameworks. The theoretical and methodological tool was the Socio-Didactic Tetrahedron.
The research data are (a) the 2 teaching sessions and (b) interviews with the teachers of the second school. The differences between the institutional contexts in the two educational systems and how they affect the development of the activities are studied. At the same time, the teacher in each system plays a different role and it is important to study the interaction of this with the students and the ways in which the modelling and problem solving is affected because of this. The experiential context through which the activity was introduced was one of the parts of the research study and the effect of this on the development of modelling and the performance of results consistent with it by the students is examined.
The results highlight that students in the American Educational System appeared to be more familiar with conducting experiential activities as opposed to students in the Greek Educational System who sought teacher guidance. An important result is the contextual understanding of the problem which is the main criterion for solving the activity through its experiential part. The results showed that the factors that influenced the development of students' knowledge were (a) communication, (b) the authentic context of the problem, (c) the search for accuracy, (d) the teacher's interventions and (e) the use of visual representations and digital tools.
Main subject category:
Science
Keywords:
modelling cycle, educational system, experiential activities.
