Pretesting Mathematical Concepts with the Mobile Phone: Implications for Curriculum Design

dc.creator	Rita Ndagire Kizito
dc.date	2012-01-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-08-12T11:18:29Z
dc.date.available	2015-08-12T11:18:29Z
dc.identifier	1492-3831
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/9bfb918be58347608521f7223f71abe2
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/26946
dc.description	One of the neglected elements when teaching at a distance is establishing what learners already know at the beginning of the course or module. Unlike the face-to-face environment, in distance learning there is no opportunity for administering diagnostic activities just before the onset of instruction. This means that both the weak and more advanced students receive the same level of support since there is no mechanism for differentiating their learning needs. This paper describes the characteristics of a diagnostic test aimed at determining student understanding of the basic calculus concepts of the derivative and the integral, using the mobile phone as the method of delivery. As a proof-of-concept exercise, 10 questions designed to test concept attributes and procedural knowledge involving the two basic calculus concepts were given to a sample of 30 students at the beginning of the course. The implications for curriculum design were then analysed in terms of the didactical functionalities and the communication strategy that could be developed with reference to the mobile phone.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	Athabasca University Press
dc.relation	http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1065/2075
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831
dc.rights	CC BY
dc.source	International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol 13, Iss 1 (2012)
dc.subject	Prediagnostic testing
dc.subject	mobile phone
dc.subject	distance learning
dc.subject	undergraduate calculus teaching
dc.subject	Realistic Mathematics Education
dc.subject	didactic functionalities
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	Pretesting Mathematical Concepts with the Mobile Phone: Implications for Curriculum Design
dc.type	article