A Student's Modeling of a Business Problem: A Case Representative of Students' Struggle to See Meaning in Mathematics

This article analyses the modeling approach used by one student in a business problem. It is argued that if we use previous frameworks we are not able to classify the students' approach to modeling as purely theoretical or empirical. Instead the student used a theoretical approach when construc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTeaching mathematics and its applications Vol. 25; no. 3; pp. 105 - 108
Main Author Dias, Ana L. B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford University Press 01.09.2006
Subjects
Business
Familiarity
Mathematical Concepts
Mathematical Models
Problem Solving
Relevance (Education)
Student Behavior
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Summary:This article analyses the modeling approach used by one student in a business problem. It is argued that if we use previous frameworks we are not able to classify the students' approach to modeling as purely theoretical or empirical. Instead the student used a theoretical approach when constructing a real model, but abandoned it when she had to create a mathematical model. Reasons for this shift seem to be: greater familiarity with real-world concepts than with mathematical concepts; lack of appreciation of how mathematics could help understand or solve the problem; and discredit in the usefulness of mathematics for solving real problems.
ISSN:0268-3679
DOI:10.1093/teamat/hri029