ERIC Number: EJ1123729
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jan
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1954
EISSN: N/A
Interactions between Defining, Explaining and Classifying: The Case of Increasing and Decreasing Sequences
Alcock, Lara; Simpson, Adrian
Educational Studies in Mathematics, v94 n1 p5-19 Jan 2017
This paper describes a study in which we investigated relationships between defining mathematical concepts--increasing and decreasing infinite sequences--explaining their meanings and classifying consistently with formal definitions. We explored the effect of defining, explaining or studying a definition on subsequent classification, and the effect of classifying on subsequent explaining and defining. We report that (1) student-generated definitions and explanations were highly variable in content and quality; (2) explicitly considering the meaning of the concept facilitated subsequent classification, and giving a personal definition or explanation had a greater effect than studying a given definition; (3) classifying before defining or explaining resulted in significantly poorer definitions and explanations. We discuss the implications of these results for the teaching of abstract pure mathematics, relating our discussion to existing work on the concept image/concept definition distinction and on working with examples.
Descriptors: Mathematical Concepts, Concept Teaching, Definitions, Classification, Mathematics Instruction, Teaching Methods, Instructional Effectiveness, Sequential Learning, Educational Practices, Educational Strategies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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