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Context and Understanding: The Case of Linear Models

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Mathematical Modelling and Applications

Abstract

The benefits of student engagement with real-world contexts seem to be well accepted by the mathematical modelling and application ‘community’. Yet concerns related to difficulties necessarily arising through engagement with the messy real world continue to be raised. This chapter presents a qualitative analysis from a study of Year 9 students and illustrates how engagement with context offers opportunities to demonstrate and deepen genuine mathematical understanding of rate of change. Genuine collaboration and interthinking were found to facilitate the development of mathematical understanding clearly enabled by the real-world context.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education (Melbourne), Australian Catholic University, Level 1, 250 Victoria Pde, East Melbourne, VIC, 3002, Australia

    Jill P. Brown

Authors
  1. Jill P. Brown
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Correspondence to Jill P. Brown .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Catholic University, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

    Gloria Ann Stillman

  2. University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany

    Werner Blum

  3. University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Gabriele Kaiser

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Brown, J.P. (2017). Context and Understanding: The Case of Linear Models. In: Stillman, G., Blum, W., Kaiser, G. (eds) Mathematical Modelling and Applications. International Perspectives on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematical Modelling. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62968-1_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62968-1_18

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-62967-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-62968-1

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