Differences between how Undergraduate Students Define Geometric Solids and what their Lecturers Expect from them through the Lens of the Theory of Commognition

Verónica Martín-Molina; Alfonso J. González-Regaña; Rocío Toscano; José María Gavilán-Izquierdo

doi:10.29333/ejmste/9159

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Verónica Martín-Molina ¹ ^* , Alfonso J. González-Regaña ¹ , Rocío Toscano ¹ , José María Gavilán-Izquierdo ¹

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¹ Departamento de Didáctica de las Matemáticas, Universidad de Sevilla, SPAIN^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Undergraduate students’ engagement with mathematical discourse when defining geometric solids is analysed and compared with what their lecturers expect them to do. The theory of commognition is adopted as the theoretical framework, which permits the characterisation and comparison of their discursive activities, and may lead to the identification of potential commognitive conflicts. The participants were forty-five undergraduate students (primary pre-service teachers) and their lecturers. A worksheet with questions about defining geometric solids was used as a data collection instrument. The students, in small groups, had to discuss and write their answers, and the lecturers were asked what they expected from their students. Results show three main areas of mismatch between students’ engagement in mathematical discourse and what their lecturers expected from them. There is no clear consensus across the students on how to define or on what a definition is or on which criterion to use when selecting a definition.

Keywords

defining
mathematical discourse
theory of commognition
undergraduate students

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 16, Issue 12, December 2020, Article No: em1917

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9159

Publication date: 14 Nov 2020

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How to cite this article

APA

Martín-Molina, V., González-Regaña, A. J., Toscano, R., & Gavilán-Izquierdo, J. M. (2020). Differences between how Undergraduate Students Define Geometric Solids and what their Lecturers Expect from them through the Lens of the Theory of Commognition. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(12), em1917. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9159

Vancouver

Martín-Molina V, González-Regaña AJ, Toscano R, Gavilán-Izquierdo JM. Differences between how Undergraduate Students Define Geometric Solids and what their Lecturers Expect from them through the Lens of the Theory of Commognition. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(12):em1917. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9159

AMA

Martín-Molina V, González-Regaña AJ, Toscano R, Gavilán-Izquierdo JM. Differences between how Undergraduate Students Define Geometric Solids and what their Lecturers Expect from them through the Lens of the Theory of Commognition. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(12), em1917. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9159

Chicago

Martín-Molina, Verónica, Alfonso J. González-Regaña, Rocío Toscano, and José María Gavilán-Izquierdo. "Differences between how Undergraduate Students Define Geometric Solids and what their Lecturers Expect from them through the Lens of the Theory of Commognition". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2020 16 no. 12 (2020): em1917. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9159

Harvard

Martín-Molina, V., González-Regaña, A. J., Toscano, R., and Gavilán-Izquierdo, J. M. (2020). Differences between how Undergraduate Students Define Geometric Solids and what their Lecturers Expect from them through the Lens of the Theory of Commognition. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(12), em1917. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9159

MLA

Martín-Molina, Verónica et al. "Differences between how Undergraduate Students Define Geometric Solids and what their Lecturers Expect from them through the Lens of the Theory of Commognition". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 16, no. 12, 2020, em1917. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9159