Mathematical Simulations – Students No Longer Lost in Two-dimensional Space
(Room S320D)
29 Nov 17
3:00 PM
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3:30 PM
In his 2013 study on The Effects of Implementing Technology in a High School Math Classroom, Murphy asserts “there is still a great need to continually evaluate what methods are working in the mathematics classroom… educators need to look at possible areas of improvement of the pedagogy of mathematics to a higher-order thinking to motivate and inspire students to learn mathematics, but also see the practical uses of mathematics in the realworld.” Empirically, he found only 26% of “high school seniors had shown a strong knowledge with accuracy of [given] mathematical concepts” (Perry & Steck, 2015), (Murphy, 2016). Experiential learning simulations, paired with traditional instructional methods, will yield a greater conceptual understanding and retention of taught material, enabling students to better visualize abstract concepts and apply them in real world situations.
Multiple simulations were created for student interaction in Autodesk Inventor 2016. In addition to interactive simulations, three-dimensional models were created to visually demonstrate conceptual knowledge otherwise lost in two-dimensional space. These models served as an aid for students to fully grasp rotating two-dimensional cross sections defined by the intersection of curves around various axes. Students self-rated their understanding of the material before and after their exposure to the computer simulations. They also took a two-question quiz testing the content area of Volumes by Revolution. Both quantitative and qualitative metrics showed positive correlation between the use of computer simulations and increased student understanding. Quantitatively speaking, a 27-point increase was observed—on average—on participants’ scores, with scores out of 100, with a p-value of 2.349%. With a 95% confidence interval, one can expect to see a range of at least a 3.0848-point increase on participants’ scores and at most a 50.7613-point increase in participants’ scores; with the data supporting the hypot