RUME 14 (Volume 4)
2011
Portland, Oregon
STUDENT APPROACHES AND DIFFICULTIES IN UNDERSTANDING AND USE OF VECTORS
Page: 121
A configuration of vector representations based on multiple represen- tation, cognitive development, and mathematical conceptualization, to serve as a new unifying framework for studying undergraduate student approaches and difficulties in understanding and using of vectors is proposed. Using this configuration, the study will explore 5 impor- tant transitions, 'physics to mathematics', 'arithmetic to algebraic', 'analytic to synthetic', 'geometric to symbolic', 'concrete to abstract', and corresponding student difficulties along epistemological and ontological axes. As a part of validation of the framework, a s undergraduate students' approaches and difficulties in unders and using of vectors with both quantitative and qualitative methods will be introduced, and we will see how useful this new framework is to analyze student approaches and difficulties in understanding and using of vectors.