University teachers’ didactic-mathematical knowledge for teaching the effect of coefficient b on the quadratic function

Carlos Ledezma; Juan Pablo Vargas; Diana Hidalgo-Moncada; Vicenç Font

doi:10.29333/ejmste/13864

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Carlos Ledezma ¹ , Juan Pablo Vargas ¹ , Diana Hidalgo-Moncada ¹ , Vicenç Font ¹ ^*

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¹ Department of Linguistic, Scientific, & Mathematics Education, Faculty of Education, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, SPAIN^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Literature shows a tendency to relegate the role of coefficient b to second place in the teaching of the quadratic function. We report an experience with Chilean university teachers, who designed a teaching and learning sequence with this function for construction engineering students. Our focus was on the didactic-mathematical knowledge about the effects of varying coefficient b on the graphical representation of this function that the participating teachers made evident. We constituted a focus group with 10 teachers and then qualitatively analyzed their dialogues using the mathematics teacher’s didactic-mathematical knowledge and competencies model. We highlight the following results: (a) the importance of mathematical knowledge and that of the epistemic facet to interpret the effect of coefficient b on the graphical representation of the quadratic function and (b) the proposal of an interpretation for the graphical behavior of coefficient b that contributes to the teaching of the quadratic function.

Keywords

coefficient b
didactic-mathematical knowledge
quadratic function
university teachers

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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 19, Issue 12, December 2023, Article No: em2370

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13864

Publication date: 01 Dec 2023

Online publication date: 05 Nov 2023

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APA

Ledezma, C., Vargas, J. P., Hidalgo-Moncada, D., & Font, V. (2023). University teachers’ didactic-mathematical knowledge for teaching the effect of coefficient b on the quadratic function. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(12), em2370. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13864

Vancouver

Ledezma C, Vargas JP, Hidalgo-Moncada D, Font V. University teachers’ didactic-mathematical knowledge for teaching the effect of coefficient b on the quadratic function. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2023;19(12):em2370. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13864

AMA

Ledezma C, Vargas JP, Hidalgo-Moncada D, Font V. University teachers’ didactic-mathematical knowledge for teaching the effect of coefficient b on the quadratic function. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2023;19(12), em2370. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13864

Chicago

Ledezma, Carlos, Juan Pablo Vargas, Diana Hidalgo-Moncada, and Vicenç Font. "University teachers’ didactic-mathematical knowledge for teaching the effect of coefficient b on the quadratic function". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2023 19 no. 12 (2023): em2370. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13864

Harvard

Ledezma, C., Vargas, J. P., Hidalgo-Moncada, D., and Font, V. (2023). University teachers’ didactic-mathematical knowledge for teaching the effect of coefficient b on the quadratic function. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(12), em2370. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13864

MLA

Ledezma, Carlos et al. "University teachers’ didactic-mathematical knowledge for teaching the effect of coefficient b on the quadratic function". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 19, no. 12, 2023, em2370. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13864