Empirical modelling for constructionist learning in a Thai secondary school mathematics class
Antony Harfield, Meurig Beynon · Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick) · 2012
Constructionism advocates that learning takes place when the learner is actively engaged in building or 'constructing'. Empirical Modelling provides a web-based environment that enables learners to build software artefacts in an unusually open-ended and flexible manner. In this paper, we explore the potential for using the principles and tools of Empirical Modelling to support constructionist learning in a Thai secondary school context. An activity was implemented for a Mathayom 3 mathematics class, on the topic of linear inequality that enables students to explore a simple model of a number line. The activity encourages students to go beyond the typical “question/answer” exercise and attempts to give students the capability to build a number line model themselves within the Empirical Modelling environment. The paper discusses the benefits and limitations of the implemented approach.