From Practical to Theoretical Thinking: The Impact of the Role-Play Activity

Abstract

This paper concerns the analysis of the outcomes of a role-play activity aimed at fostering conceptual understanding of linear algebra for the firstyear engineering students. The role of the teacher is considered in order to investigate about whether the designed role–play activity is able to affect the passage from practical to theoretical thinking. The analysis shows that, in spite of some difficulties related to the use of language, the students have improved their mastery of theoretical thinking.