Assessing the Difficulty of Mathematical Translations: Synthesizing the Literature and Novel Findings

Michael J. Bossé; Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi; Meredith R. Cheetham

doi:10.29333/iejme/264

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Michael J. Bossé, Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi, Meredith R. Cheetham

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Abstract

Students perennially demonstrate difficulty in correctly performing mathematical translations between and among mathematical representations. This investigation considers the respective difficulty of various mathematical translations based on student activity (defining mathematical errors during the translation process, teacher beliefs and instructional practices, student interpretive and translation activities, and the use of transitional representations) and the nature of individual representations (fact gaps, confounding facts, and attribute density). These dimensions are synthesized into a more complete model through which to analyze student translation work and delineate which mathematical translations are more difficult than others.

Keywords

Representations
translations
difficulties
student errors

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, Volume 6, Issue 3, October 2011, 113-133

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/264

Publication date: 12 Dec 2011

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How to cite this article

APA

Bossé, M. J., Adu-Gyamfi, K., & Cheetham, M. R. (2011). Assessing the Difficulty of Mathematical Translations: Synthesizing the Literature and Novel Findings. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 6(3), 113-133. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/264

Vancouver

Bossé MJ, Adu-Gyamfi K, Cheetham MR. Assessing the Difficulty of Mathematical Translations: Synthesizing the Literature and Novel Findings. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2011;6(3):113-33. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/264

AMA

Bossé MJ, Adu-Gyamfi K, Cheetham MR. Assessing the Difficulty of Mathematical Translations: Synthesizing the Literature and Novel Findings. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2011;6(3), 113-133. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/264

Chicago

Bossé, Michael J., Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi, and Meredith R. Cheetham. "Assessing the Difficulty of Mathematical Translations: Synthesizing the Literature and Novel Findings". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2011 6 no. 3 (2011): 113-133. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/264

Harvard

Bossé, M. J., Adu-Gyamfi, K., and Cheetham, M. R. (2011). Assessing the Difficulty of Mathematical Translations: Synthesizing the Literature and Novel Findings. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 6(3), pp. 113-133. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/264

MLA

Bossé, Michael J. et al. "Assessing the Difficulty of Mathematical Translations: Synthesizing the Literature and Novel Findings". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 6, no. 3, 2011, pp. 113-133. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/264