PROCEEDINGS OF THE 23RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2020
Boston, Massachusetts
The use of nonstandard problems in an ordinary differential equations course for engineering students reveals commognitive conflicts
Page: 1141
We report on a teaching intervention in an ordinary differential equations (ODEs) course for engineering students focusing our attention on the role of nonstandard problems in the development of students’ conceptual understanding. The lecturer designed a set of problems challenging traditional approaches to Existence and Uniqueness Theorems (EUTs). Our analysis of the students’ mathematical discourse developed in the process of group discussions within Commognition Theoretical Framework reveals unresolved commognitive conflict. We suggest how modifications in the problem design prompted by the students’ mathematical discourse can be used to improve students’ conceptual understanding of the material.