ERIC Number: EJ820238
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Sep
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1033-2170
EISSN: N/A
Different Disciplines, Different Transitions
Wood, Leigh; Solomonides, Ian
Mathematics Education Research Journal, v20 n2 p117-134 Sep 2008
There is not just one mathematics taught at university level, nor is there one group of students. Mathematics is taught differently depending on the discipline and the perceived background of the student. There is engineering mathematics for the students heading towards engineering degrees, life science mathematics for those heading towards biology degrees and so on. This paper considers the phases of transitions that students experience as they embark on a course of study and then go on to professional life. We make inferences about the ways the curriculum should be designed to alleviate the difficulties of these phases as well as to take account of the capabilities that graduates will require in the workplace. It is not only where students are coming from that affects their learning but where they are heading to, in combination with their perceptions of that destination. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Curriculum Design, Intellectual Disciplines, Education Work Relationship, Relevance (Education), Foreign Countries, Mathematics Instruction, Mathematical Concepts, College Mathematics, Mathematics Education, Mathematics, College Curriculum, College Instruction, Student Attitudes, Student Needs
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia. 67 Kokoda Avenue, Wahroonga 2076, Australia. Fax: +61-9688-5001; e-mail: vp.conferences@merga.net.au; Web Site: http://www.merga.net.au/publications/merj.php
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia; Brunei; Canada; South Africa; United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A