Investigating the effect of computer-supported instruction on students' understanding of different representations of two-variable inequalities

• Published in: Interactive learning environments Vol. 31; no. 6; pp. 3305 - 3325
• Main Author: Çekmez, Erdem
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 18.08.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Algebra; CAI; compound inequalities; Computer Assisted Instruction; Computers; dynamic mathematics software; Elementary School Mathematics; Elementary School Teachers; Foreign Countries; Graphs; Inequalities; Instructional Effectiveness; logical connectives; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical Concepts; Mathematics Education; Mathematics Instruction; Mathematics Teachers; Misconceptions; multiple representations; Preservice Teachers; Pretests Posttests; Representations; Students; Two-variable inequalities; Turkey
• ISSN: 1049-4820; 1744-5191
• DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2021.1926288

The topic of inequalities is one of the fundamental subject areas for the development of mathematical knowledge. Although there is a considerable body of research focused on one-variable inequalities, studies that investigate students' performance on two-variable inequalities are scarce. With this in mind, the aim of this study is twofold: first, it provides an account of the difficulties that students face in interpreting and constructing different representations of two-variable inequalities; and second, it investigates the effectiveness of a computer-supported teaching sequence aimed at developing students' understanding of different representations of two-variable inequalities. The participants in the study were 33 elementary mathematics teacher candidates. The data were gathered via a test implemented as a pre- and post-test. The main finding of the study was that students had difficulty in establishing the link between the coordinates of the points in a solution set and the algebraic representation of a two-variable inequality. Moreover, it was found that the students were not able to correctly use and interpret the logical connectives in compound inequalities. The comparison of the pre- and post-test scores indicated that the designed instructional sequence was beneficial for supporting students in understanding the different representations of two-variable inequalities.