The Implication of Mathematical Modeling in Teaching

This book describes the main implications of mathematical modeling in the teaching of mathematics by designing and conducting a short teaching intervention via model-eliciting activities. The data was collected through class observation, review of text book, questionnaires, interview, and students' final reports detailing the processes used in developing the model for the model-eliciting activities. The analysis of the data revealed the following results: the majority of the participating students were able to work effectively with model-eliciting activities that enable them to discover the meaning of the mathematical concepts and the activities helped them to know how mathematics is applied in real world phenomena; activities that require interpretation and test of model appeared rarely while most activities in the textbook require students to only apply a ready-made formula to reach a solution; students' report showed that their prior experience gained from the first modeling activity helped them to develop a better model and interpret the solutions back to reality; and teachers & students believed that teaching and learning via modeling activities could improve teaching.

Autorentext

Mr. Gizachew Kefelew is a lecturer at Mekelle University, Ethiopia. His research interests lie in the area of Mathematical Modeling, Engineering Mathematics and Partial differential equation. This book is resulted from highly dedicated professional experience of the author and his co-author.