PROCEEDINGS OF THE 18TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2015
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Meritorious Citation: Conceptualizing and reasoning with frames of reference
Page: 31
Though commonly used in math and physics, the concept of frames of reference is not described cognitively in any literature. The lack of a careful description of the mental actions involved in thinking within a frame of reference inhibits our ability to account for issues related to frames of reference in students’ reasoning. In this paper we offer a theoretical model of mental actions involved in conceptualizing a frame of reference. Additionally, we posit mental actions that are necessary for a student to reason with multiple frames of reference. This theoretical model provides an additional lens through which researchers can examine students’ quantitative reasoning.