scholarly journals The Definition Of A Function Do Post College Algebra Students Know It And Can They Apply It?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winston Link
Keyword(s):  
College Algebra ◽  
Algebra Students ◽  
Definition Of

scholarly journals Analyzing Educational Objectives that Include Critical Thinking: Dot Product Problems in Vector Algebra

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-118
Author(s):  
Aneta Gacovska-Barandovska ◽  
Vesna Celakoska-Jordanova ◽  
Emilija Celakoska
Keyword(s):  
First Year ◽  
Mathematical Activity ◽  
Solo Taxonomy ◽  
Algebra Students ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Vector Algebra ◽  
Dot Product ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The University ◽  
First Year University

The primary and secondary school educational system should be stable and any upgrading reforms should be made gradually and consistently. This is especially important in mathematics education, since the element of logical reasoning while learning is more prominent there. Inconsistencies in reforms generate deficiencies in the higher levels of young students’ reasoning skills and this situation continues on the university stage of education. We will report our findings about the reasoning of first-year university students on elements of geometry and associated algebra. We conducted an experiment where students’ understanding of the definition of dot product of two vectors, cosine function and linear (in)dependence of vectors is evaluated, and address their mathematical activity to provide insight into the key elements of the problem they are solving. We use Bloom’s and SOLO taxonomy as a tool for the assessment of our findings. We obtained the data from written exams given to vector algebra students and also from individual interviews.   

Inequalities, Absolute Value, and Logical Connectives

1992 ◽  
Vol 85 (9) ◽  
pp. 756-757
Author(s):  
Charles R. Parish
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Function Concept ◽  
Real Numbers ◽  
Appropriate Use ◽  
Standard Definition ◽  
Absolute Value ◽  
Algebra Students ◽  
Logical Connectives ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Ordered Pairs

Algebra students often have difficulty in sorting out and correctly using the concepts involved in the solution of linear inequalities. The introduction of the concept of absolute value causes additional complications for many students. Two of the major problem areas are (1) the concept of absolute value as normally defined and (2) the recognition and appropriate use of the logical connectives and and or in the solution of problems that combine inequalities with absolute value. One way to alleviate students' confusion and promote their problem-solving ability in such a setting is to adopt an approach different from that found in current textbooks. This approach involves consideration of the function concept as the graph generated by associated ordered pairs of real numbers rather than functional values as obtained from the standard definition of absolute value.

scholarly journals A Psychometric Analysis of the Algebra and Precalculus Concept Readiness Assessment for Community Colleges

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-336
Author(s):  
Yadira Peralta ◽  
Nidhi Kohli ◽  
April Strom ◽  
Irene Duranczyk ◽  
Vilma Mesa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Item Response ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
College Algebra ◽  
College Level ◽  
Readiness Assessment ◽  
Algebra Students ◽  
Reasoning Abilities ◽  
Item Fit

Understanding students’ readiness for precalculus and calculus at the community college level is critical not only because of the key role community colleges play in higher education but also because calculus remains a gateway course for students in advancing to higher level mathematics. The Algebra and Precalculus Concept Readiness Assessment for Community Colleges (APCR-CC) was designed to investigate community college students’ quantitative reasoning abilities and conceptual understanding in algebra. The present study investigates the psychometric properties of the APCR-CC instrument using item response theory based on a sample of intermediate and college algebra students from six community colleges collected in a pretest ( N = 1,131) and posttest ( N = 772) setting. We examine unidimensionality, item fit, local item independence, measurement invariance, and sensitivity to instruction. Our findings suggest that the APCR-CC instrument is sufficiently characterized by one underlying construct, local dependence does not seem to be an issue, and 80% of the items in the APCR-CC instrument are sensitive to instruction.

scholarly journals Factor structure of problem-solving efficacy among college Algebra students

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-28
Author(s):  
Oscar C. Anoling Jr. ◽  
Januard D. Dagdag ◽  
Jefferson F. Pascual ◽  
Ryan P. Salviejo
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
College Algebra ◽  
Algebra Students

scholarly journals Promoting Proactive Behavior through Motivation: Required Math Lab Hours Case

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Rachid Ait Maalem Lahcen ◽  
Ram Mohapatra
Keyword(s):  
Large Class ◽  
Supplemental Instruction ◽  
Wait Time ◽  
College Algebra ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Proactive Behavior ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Class Meeting ◽  
Computer Lab ◽  
Algebra Students

Requiring that students enrolled in college algebra to spend hours in a computer lab has been a practice in colleges and universities to improve success and retention. In part, because students come with different backgrounds, skills, and the computer lab environment allows for personalized supplemental instruction and tutoring. However, the way this practice may cause problems among students. Prior to this study, we realized that college algebra students are not pleased with having to wait outside the lab to get in and have to spend three hours per week to a receive a small credit. The wait time is due to the limited lab capacity that cannot house a large number of students when they visit at the last minute or right after a large class meeting. Hence, we attempted to stimulate a proactive behavior of visiting the lab early in the week through offering an incentive. It entails reducing the number of lab hours for the same credit after achieving a certain mastery. The results show that the students responded well to the modification. The final exam mean test shows that the modification was an improvement.

scholarly journals Enhancing the Teaching and Learning of College Algebra with ColAlgMap

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 89-103
Author(s):  
Phong Luu ◽  
Thinh Kieu
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
College Algebra ◽  
Private Tutor ◽  
College Level ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Mathematics Courses ◽  
Algebra Students

Teaching and learning lower level mathematics courses on the college level can be challenging and overwhelming. This paper will demonstrate how to design and develop a maplet package to aid in the teaching and learning of mathematics, to serve as a private tutor with infinite patience for college algebra students, and as a useful pedagogical tool for instructors. By using interactive worksheets and animated graphics in maplets, students will find the opportunity for numerous experiments that will foster their development of mathematical conceptual understanding and of computational skills.

America's Pastime

1993 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 450-451
Author(s):  
James O. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Linear Equations ◽  
College Algebra ◽  
Algebra Students ◽  
Sports Statistics

Sports statistics, especially those from baseball, furnish interesting and motivating problems for algebra students. The following problem was chosen from Fundamentals of College Algebra (Swokowski 1989) and presented to a class of algebra students to give an example of an application of linear equations.

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