PROCEEDINGS OF THE 20TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2017
San Diego, California
Managing tensions within a coordinated inquiry-based learning linear algebra course: The role of worksheets
Page: 739
How do nine instructors teaching a linear algebra course at a research university manage tensions that emerge because of the requirement of teaching the course with an Inquiry-Based Learning approach within a coordinated system? Using Herbst’s practical rationality framework (Chazan, Herbst, & Clark, 2016; Herbst & Chazan, 2011) we identify features of the course organization that contributed to tensions between professional obligations that were resolved via the production of worksheets that teachers gave to the students. We noted differences in how these tensions were handled, and provide some evidence that such differences might be related to the research orientation the instructors brought and to their status in the institution. We formulate some hypotheses that can shed light on how to assist in changing post-secondary instructional practices.