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Exploring the mathematics of motion through construction and collaboration

Simpson, G; Hoyles, C; Noss, R; (2006) Exploring the mathematics of motion through construction and collaboration. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning , 22 (2) pp. 114-136. Green open access

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Abstract

In this paper we give a detailed account of the design principles and construction of activities designed for learning about the relationships between position, velocity and acceleration, and corresponding kinematics graphs. Our approach is model-based, that is, it focuses attention on the idea that students constructed their own models ? in the form of programs ? to formalise and thus extend their existing knowledge. In these activities, students controlled the movement of objects in a programming environment, recording the motion data and plotting corresponding position-time and velocity-time graphs. They shared their findings on a specially-designed web-based collaboration system, and posted cross-site challenges to which others could react. We present learning episodes that provide evidence of students making discoveries about the relationships between different representations of motion. We conjecture that these discoveries arose from their activity in building models of motion and their participation in classroom and online communities.

Type: Article
Title: Exploring the mathematics of motion through construction and collaboration
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Keywords: Communication; Programming; Mathematics; Modelling; Science, Learning process: Group; Individual. Level and place of learning: Secondary. Research/evaluation paradigm: Illuminative; Qualitative. Content: Kinematics; Graphs; Motion
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Culture, Communication and Media
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1515619
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