Not Too Slippery a Slope: Grounding the Mathematics of Slope in Students' Perceptions of Steepness

• In Event: 72.049 - Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: 72.049-9 - Research on Algebraic and Proportional Reasoning

Abstract

The goal of this design-based research study centers around the creation and evaluation of a mini-unit intended to foster perceptually grounded understandings of the concept of slope. Data from nine interviews with seventh grade students suggest that a majority of students appropriated the mathematics of slope to support their intuitive judgments regarding steepness. I compare three case studies that suggest apparent conceptual milestones along student learning. Results suggest that students’ successful coordination of steepness and slope demand that their analytical and intuitive constructions be surfaced and integrated multiple times throughout the learning experience.

Author

• Ian Thacker, University of Southern California