Impact of an Internet project on college mathematics students' discourse and meaning-making.

Abstract

Recommendations for future research regarding students' meaning efforts included suggestions for possible holistic approaches as well as suggestions for more student input into classroom curriculum design. Some examples include constructing a "textbook free" mathematics classroom.

The collected data were analyzed using a thematic analysis based on the study's research question(s) and students' categorical responses. The findings of the study suggest that students, by incorporating an internet project to reinforce their mathematics instruction, speak of mathematics in a more positive nature and were able to find for themselves its connections to real-world situations and to their areas of study and/or personal interests. With regard to meaning making, the majority of students focused their efforts on finding out how Calculus impacted their current area of study and future career.

This study examined the impact of an Internet project on students': (a) mathematical classroom discourse, (b) meaning making of calculus concepts, (c) relevancy of Calculus to students' area of interest and/or study, and (d) beliefs about mathematics. The two methods of data collection used for this study were surveying and interviewing. Surveys and questionnaires were used to obtain information regarding students' beliefs and/or opinions regarding mathematics. Interviews were used to probe students' perceptions and/or attitudes regarding writing in college mathematics courses as well as their opinions regarding the incorporation of research projects in mathematics classroom curriculum. Data was also collected from students' completed Internet Projects.