Abstract:

Novel computer-aided mathematical tools can be powerful means for learning and repetition. However, teachers often experience a tendency of such aids to distance learners from in-depth focus. Well-intended attempts to motivate through competition or gamification may end up as obstacles for students, seeking points or a quick path to the right answer at the expense of thorough understanding of mathematical topics. Furthermore, the digital tools will more often than not be used individually, hindering discussion and conceptual reflection with peers. In this study, students in parallel classes at a preparatory course for engineering studies cooperated together in solving exercises in STACK, a widely used open-source online service based on a computer algebra system. Students worked in permanent groups to ensure stability and to promote confidence among the group participants. With the aim to obtain an organized frame for learning, students worked on the concrete mathematical tasks as well as conceptual reflection by means of team-based learning, incorporating analog (paper) 10-question assessment immediate response tests. The digital answers to tests were submitted along with the assessment tests, and results of different groups from several exercises were compared.

Keywords:

CAS, computer-aided tools, precalculus, team-based learning.