Autobiographical Accounts of Students' Experiences Learning Mathematics: A Review

ABSTRACT

In this article, we review published literature that draws on autobiographical accounts of students' experiences learning mathematics. We summarize the main findings of the target literature and present recommendations for further research that will extend this field. Our review indicates that autobiographical and narrative methodological approaches have the potential to occasion important advances in our knowledge of students' experiences learning mathematics. However, relative to accounts of preservice teacher learning, there is a paucity of published research that documents the mathematics learning experiences of kindergarten to Grade 12 students.     

The teacher's responsibility in whole‐class debriefing of mathematical activity

Abstract

Prompted by recent moves in the United Kingdom to guide teachers’ practices in whole‐class, direct interactive teaching, in this article, we offer an opportunity for North American mathematics educators to reflect on possibilities for whole‐class teaching of mathematics. We focus particularly on the plenary aspect of lessons—what might be considered the debriefing of mathematical activity—and specifically on the teacher's responsibility during those sessions, both to his or her students and to the authenticity of the discipline of mathematics. Drawing on data from a Grade‐3 classroom and invoking complexity science as a theoretical lens to explore the classroom as a complex learning system, we present implications for teaching in whole‐class debriefings of mathematical activity.     

Relationship between the attenuation of downwelling irradiance at 490 nm with the attenuation of PAR (400 nm-700 nm) in the Baltic Sea

The vertical attenuation coefficient of diffuse downwelling irradiance at 490 nm (K_d 490) is a parameter that we routinely derive from SeaWiFS images of the Baltic Sea. Here, through model simulations, we examine the relationship between K_d(490), and the vertical attenuation coefficient of PAR (K_d PAR), as this later coefficient determines the light available for aquatic photosynthesis. A simple semi-analytical model is used to predict K_d(490) and K_d(PAR), as a function of the concentrations of chlorophyll, colored dissolved organic material (CDOM), suspended inorganic, and suspended organic particulate material. A series of model simulations based on variations in these optically significant constituents over a range realistic for the Baltic Sea, are used to define the relationship between the two attenuation coefficients.

Kd(PAR)=0.6677Kd^0.6763(490).     

A review on the combination of binary classifiers in multiclass problems

Several real problems involve the classification of data into categories or classes. Given a data set containing data whose classes are known, Machine Learning algorithms can be employed for the induction of a classifier able to predict the class of new data from the same domain, performing the desired discrimination. Some learning techniques are originally conceived for the solution of problems with only two classes, also named binary classification problems. However, many problems require the discrimination of examples into more than two categories or classes. This paper presents a survey on the main strategies for the generalization of binary classifiers to problems with more than two classes, known as multiclass classification problems. The focus is on strategies that decompose the original multiclass problem into multiple binary subtasks, whose outputs are combined to obtain the final prediction.     

A prototype for cartographic human body analysis

A cartographic-oriented model uses algebraic map operations to perform spatial analysis of medical data relative to the human body. A prototype system uses 3D visualization techniques to deliver analysis results. A prototype implementation suggests the model might provide the basis for a medical application tool that introduces new information insight.     

ICT integration in the classroom: Challenging the potential of a school policy

Despite the assumption that the integration of ICT influences the entire school system, research focusing on ICT in schools is generally limited to the study of variables at class level. In contrast to these studies, the present research explores ICT integration from a school improvement approach. More particularly, it examines the local school policy with respect to ICT integration from both the principal’s perspective and perceptions of teachers. Furthermore, it studies the relationship between school policies and the actual use of ICT in the classroom. To answer the research questions, a representative sample of 53 primary school principals was interviewed. In addition, the interview data were supplemented with survey data of 574 teachers from the same 53 schools. What emerged from the analyses was that school-related policies, such as an ICT plan, ICT support and ICT training have a significant effect on class use of ICT. In addition, the findings from the interviews indicate that school policies are often underdeveloped and underutilised. The discussion section focuses on challenges to improve the potential of an ICT school policy.     

A branch and bound algorithm for extracting smallest minimal unsatisfiable subformulas

Explaining the causes of infeasibility of Boolean formulas has practical applications in numerous fields, such as artificial intelligence (repairing inconsistent knowledge bases), formal verification (abstraction refinement and unbounded model checking), and electronic design (diagnosing and correcting infeasibility). Minimal unsatisfiable subformulas (MUSes) provide useful insights into the causes of infeasibility. An unsatisfiable formula often has many MUSes. Based on the application domain, however, MUSes with specific properties might be of interest. In this paper, we tackle the problem of finding a smallest-cardinality MUS (SMUS) of a given formula. An SMUS provides a succinct explanation of infeasibility and is valuable for applications that are heavily affected by the size of the explanation. We present (1) a baseline algorithm for finding an SMUS, founded on earlier work for finding all MUSes, and (2) a new branch-and-bound algorithm called Digger that computes a strong lower bound on the size of an SMUS and splits the problem into more tractable subformulas in a recursive search tree. Using two benchmark suites, we experimentally compare Digger to the baseline algorithm and to an existing incomplete genetic algorithm approach. Digger is shown to be faster in nearly all cases. It is also able to solve far more instances within a given runtime limit than either of the other approaches.     

Electronic simulation and microcontroller real implementation of an autonomous chaotic and hyperchaotic system made of a Colpitts-Josephson junction like circuit

Most of the simple Josephson junction (JJ) based circuits with chaotic behavior found in the literature are nonautonomous. Hyperchaotic JJ-based circuits are often either driven by an external force or result from coupling chaotic circuits. An autonomous simple circuit based on Josephson junction active element (JJ), with exactly three physical energy storage tanks, is proposed and analyzed in this paper. This Colpitts-like CLC circuit, though operating at low frequencies, can generate hyperchaotic signals when its nonlinear element is a resistive–capacitive–inductance shunted junction (LRCLSJ) model. Two equilibrium points are found, and their stability analysis is investigated. The proposed circuit displays Hopf bifurcation, periodic oscillations, chaotic and hyperchaotic attractors. The electronic implementation of the proposed circuit using OrCAD-PSpice software is presented to confront the numerical simulations results. A good qualitative agreement is revealed by comparing the analog and numerical simulations results. At last, the microcontroller real implementation is presented using Arduino UNO board. The results obtained are in good agreement with the numerical simulation results.

     

Workload assignment for global real-time scheduling on unrelated clustered platforms

Real-Time Systems - Heterogeneous MPSoCs are being used more and more, from cellphones to critical embedded systems. Most of those systems offer heterogeneous sets of identical cores. In this...     

Fullerene: biomedical engineers get to revisit an old friend

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