Lieven Verschaffel – författare

Linear or proportional relationships are a major topic in mathematics education. However, recent research has shown that secondary school students strongly tend to apply the linear model also in situations wherein it is not applicable. This overgeneralization of linearity is sometimes referred to as the "illusion of linearity" and has a strong negative impact on students’ reasoning and problem solving skills.

"The Illusion of Linearity: From Analysis to Improvement" presents the reader with a comprehensive overview of the major findings of the recent research on the illusion of linearity. Although the empirical study of students’ improper linear reasoning clearly constitutes a new line of research, it owes a great deal to prior work in mathematics education research community (such as the work of the scholars of the Freudenthal Institute on realistic mathematics education).

Based on both quantitative and qualitative research, "The Illusion of Linearity: From Analysis to Improvement" discusses the following issues: (1) how the illusion of linearity appears in diverse domains of mathematics and science and how it is conceptually related to other more general misconceptions identified in the research literature, (2) what are the crucial psychological, mathematical, and educational factors being responsible for the occurrence and persistence of the phenomenon, and (3) how the illusion of linearity can be remedied by appropriate instruction.

"The Illusion of Linearity: From Analysis to Improvement" is essential to those working in mathematics education, particularly teacher educators and curriculum research and development.

Within an increasingly multimedia focused society, the use of external representations in learning, teaching and communication has increased dramatically. Whether in the classroom, university or workplace, there is a growing requirement to use and interpret a large variety of external representational forms and tools for knowledge acquisition, problem solving, and to communicate with others.

Use of Representations in Reasoning and Problem Solving brings together contributions from some of the world’s leading researchers in educational and instructional psychology, instructional design, and mathematics and science education to document the role which external representations play in our understanding, learning and communication. Traditional research has focused on the distinction between verbal and non-verbal representations, and the way they are processed, encoded and stored by different cognitive systems. The contributions here challenge these research findings and address the ambiguity about how these two cognitive systems interact, arguing that the classical distinction between textual and pictorial representations has become less prominent. The contributions in this book explore:

Using empirical research findings to take a fresh look at the processes which take place when learning via external representations, this book is essential reading for all those undertaking postgraduate study and research in the fields of educational and instructional psychology, instructional design and mathematics and science education.

Within an increasingly multimedia focused society, the use of external representations in learning, teaching and communication has increased dramatically. Whether in the classroom, university or workplace, there is a growing requirement to use and interpret a large variety of external representational forms and tools for knowledge acquisition, problem solving, and to communicate with others.

Use of Representations in Reasoning and Problem Solving brings together contributions from some of the world’s leading researchers in educational and instructional psychology, instructional design, and mathematics and science education to document the role which external representations play in our understanding, learning and communication. Traditional research has focused on the distinction between verbal and non-verbal representations, and the way they are processed, encoded and stored by different cognitive systems. The contributions here challenge these research findings and address the ambiguity about how these two cognitive systems interact, arguing that the classical distinction between textual and pictorial representations has become less prominent. The contributions in this book explore:

Using empirical research findings to take a fresh look at the processes which take place when learning via external representations, this book is essential reading for all those undertaking postgraduate study and research in the fields of educational and instructional psychology, instructional design and mathematics and science education.