Connections among Representations: The Nature of Students' Coordinations on a Linear Function task
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Date
2007-07-05
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Abstract
This study focuses on students' translations between and coordinations among representations of linear function after having being explicitly taught functions via multiple representational approaches. The purpose of the study was to investigate the nature of connections performed among representations of linear function by students whose instructional experiences have been based on multiple representational approaches. In class examinations and task based interviews were conducted with a purposefully chosen sample of students from the Intermediate Algebra through Multiple Representations course in order to elucidate patterns in students' connections among representations of linear function.
Two types of connections were identified in the work of students from the study namely, procedural and foundational connections. This was the case in their translations between and their coordinations among representations of linear function. This study showed that students who performed procedural translations between the given representations of linear function knew of procedures for working within both source and target representations and for moving from given source representations to specified target representations but not the preservation of meaning requirement under a translation. The study showed that students who performed procedural coordinations were restricted in their ability to relate specific representations of linear function or to utilize specific constructs in relating representations of linear function together.
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Keywords
Connections, Multiple Representations, Coordination, Translations
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Degree
PhD
Discipline
Math, Science and Technology Education
