PROCEEDINGS OF THE 15TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2012
Portland, Oregon
Calculus beyond the Classroom: Application to a Real-Life Problem Simulated in a Virtual Environment
Page: 2-169
This study concerns the correlation of mathematical knowledge with a corresponding real life object within the theoretical framework of Realistic Mathematics Education. It shows to what extent students, who had almost completed the AP calculus course, were able to apply their knowledge to a real-life situation. By simulating the interactive milieu in the Second Life Virtual Environment (VE), this study explores how students find a ‘real-life’ optimal path ‘practically’, and how they then re-invent the corresponding calculus task. The research revealed that one out of ten participants mathematized the problem horizontally and vertically without any guidance. Another four students demonstrated independent horizontal mathematizing, still others needed guidance. The study instructional design, based on simulation of a real-life situation in VE allowed students to explore mathematical solutions relative to their intuitive findings in VE. By mathematizing their own ‘real-life’ activities, students connected them with corresponding mathematics at an intuitive level.