Collaborating with industry to highlight the relevance of mathematics

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study examines whether experiences at industrial facilities help pre-service maths teachers to design authentic mathematical-modelling activities intended for their classroom teaching in high school and how they view the benefits of integrating research and development issues into their instruction. 36 pre-service maths teachers at college in Israel participated the study. The results revealed that the pre-service maths teachers successfully designed authentic activities based on project-based learning that took into account the two cycles of mathematical modelling. The pre-service maths teachers reported that the implementation of the designed activities developed with researchers could serve as a way for them to present their students with a real-life problem that shows them the relevance of mathematics, promotes positive attitudes towards maths, and exposes the students to potential future jobs in the industries. The current study emphasised the use of mathematical modelling as a pathway that links industry and engineering with mathematics education.KEYWORDS: Mathematical modellingrelevance of mathematicsauthentic mathematics task Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Ethical approvalThe authors fulfilled all ethical responsibilities of authors applicable for this journal.Informed consentThe researchers explained the study to the potential participants and told them that they were welcome to take part in the study or to choose not to participate. To protect and respect personal data, pseudonyms are used for the students and this aspect was explained to the students before they started the study.Data availability statementThe data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.