TY - JOUR
T1 - Use of CAS in secondary school: a factor influencing the transition to university-level mathematics?
AU - Varsavsky, Cristina
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Australian secondary school systems offer three levels of senior (year 12) mathematics studies, none of them compulsory: elementary, intermediate and advanced. The intermediate and advanced studies prepare students for further mathematics studies at university level. In the state of Victoria, there are two versions of intermediate mathematics: one where students learn and are examined with a computer algebra system (CAS) and another where students can only use scientific calculators. This study compares the performance of 1240 students as they transitioned to traditional university-level mathematics and according to whether they learned intermediate mathematics with or without the assistance of a CAS. This study concludes that students without CAS show a slight advantage, but the most important factor affecting student performance is the uptake of advanced-level mathematics studies in secondary school.
AB - Australian secondary school systems offer three levels of senior (year 12) mathematics studies, none of them compulsory: elementary, intermediate and advanced. The intermediate and advanced studies prepare students for further mathematics studies at university level. In the state of Victoria, there are two versions of intermediate mathematics: one where students learn and are examined with a computer algebra system (CAS) and another where students can only use scientific calculators. This study compares the performance of 1240 students as they transitioned to traditional university-level mathematics and according to whether they learned intermediate mathematics with or without the assistance of a CAS. This study concludes that students without CAS show a slight advantage, but the most important factor affecting student performance is the uptake of advanced-level mathematics studies in secondary school.
UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0020739X.2011.582179
U2 - 10.1080/0020739X.2011.582179
DO - 10.1080/0020739X.2011.582179
M3 - Article
VL - 43
SP - 33
EP - 42
JO - International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology
JF - International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology
SN - 0020-739X
IS - 1
ER -