RUME 26
2024
Omaha, Nebraska
Assessments That Shine More Light on Undergraduates’ Conceptions of Linear Algebra
Page: 1302
There is limited research in undergraduate mathematics education on the relationships between embodiment and learner’s affect. In this poster presentation, we discuss how a summative assessment can help linear algebra students develop their own language for abstract mathematical concepts (that were introduced via various embodied activities throughout the semester) and bring their identities into the undergraduate mathematics classroom. Specifically, we report on a final exam an instructor used in her linear algebra class. The exam consisted of a written and oral component. In the written component, the students reflected on how the embodied activities supported their learning of the concepts and created metaphors for these concepts (e.g., null and column space, linear independence, determinant, eigenvector, dot and cross product, etc.). In the oral component, the students shared their metaphors in a focus-group setting. Preliminary findings suggest that the classroom embodied activities informed the students’ metaphors and thus shaped the students’ reasoning about linear algebra concepts. The students also exhibited behavioral and affective domains through embodiment such as using their bodies to portray their imagined objects and to convey their joy and frustration with creating metaphors. We conclude our presentation with some practical implications of our work.