Motivation to learn attracts many researchers in educational contexts. In this study, we propose an instrument tailored towards specifically measuring student motivation in calculus courses at higher education. We outline an extensive instrument development process that was built on (Benson's 1998. Developing a strong program of construct…

A growing emphasis on computational thinking worldwide necessitates student proficiency in creating algorithms. Focusing on the use of counterexamples for developing student-invented algorithms, I reanalyze two pieces of data from previously published research, pertaining to two different cases of students' algorithmatizing activity. In both…

The nine-point circle theorem is one of the most beautiful and surprising theorems in Euclidean geometry. It establishes an existence of a circle passing through nine points, all of which are related to a single triangle. This paper describes a set of instructional activities that can help students discover the nine-point circle theorem through…

The purpose of this paper is to provide examples of "non-traditional" proof-related activities that can explored in a dynamic geometry environment by university and high school students of mathematics. These propositions were encountered in the dynamic geometry environment. The author believes that teachers can ask their students to…

While a significant amount of research has been devoted to exploring why university students struggle applying logic, limited work can be found on how students actually make sense of the notational and structural components used in association with logic. We adapt the theoretical framework of unitizing and reification, which have been effectively…

Looking for closed forms for an integral depending on one parameter, we obtain integral identities and new integral presentations of Catalan numbers. Wallis formula appears as an important tool.

This article discusses an issue of inserting mathematical knowledge within the problem-solving processes. Relatively advanced mathematical knowledge is defined in terms of "three mathematical worlds"; relatively advanced problem-solving behaviours are defined in terms of taxonomies of "proof schemes" and "heuristic behaviours". The relationships…

This note describes two conjectures pertaining to repeated partitioning of an arbitrary triangle. The first conjecture turns out to be true, and hence gives rise to a new, more general, conjecture that is also addressed in this article. Both conjectures can be explored in a dynamic geometry environment. The proofs to the conjectures addressed in…

For many years, the author has been involving his students in classroom teaching of their own classes. The day-to-day practice is described, and the advantages and disadvantages for both the instructor and the students are discussed. Comparisons with the Moore Method of teaching are made.

This article presents an instructional approach to constructing discovery-oriented activities. The cornerstone of the approach is a systematically asked question "If a mathematical statement under consideration is plausible, but wrong anyway, how can one fix it?" or, in brief, "If not, what yes?" The approach is illustrated with examples from…

At their final exam in linear algebra students at the author's university were given the possibility to choose between two types of proofs to be done. They could either prove two short statements by themselves or they could explain four steps in a given proof. This paper reports on investigations of students' responses to the choice option…

This project aimed to quantitatively measure the ability of first year science students to transfer their mathematical skills and knowledge to a physical context. An instrument used in earlier studies to measure transfer of mathematical knowledge was modified for this project, and tested with 49 student volunteers. This paper presents the Transfer…

This paper reports an example of a situation in which university students had to solve geometrical problems presented to them dynamically using the interactive computerized environment of the "MicroWorlds Project Builder". In the process of the problem solving, the students used ten different solution strategies. The unsuccessful…