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As computation becomes increasingly central to mathematics education, instructors must balance competing forces when choosing which computational tools to use in their courses. This is compounded in probability and statistics where computation is widely used. Grounded in a social constructivist perspective, we believe that tools mediate our activities and that different tools play different mediational roles. As such, this study explores how different computational tools mediate undergraduate students' mathematical activity of argumentation. Using Toulmin’s argument model, this research investigates how two classes in probability and statistics using different computational tools, R or Minitab, performed on a mirrored assignment. Through analysis of students’ assignments, a difference emerged across the classes use of visuals. Our findings suggest Minitab promoted more deliberate consideration and use of visuals than R, leading to a difference in arguments produced by the students.
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This content will become publicly available on March 1, 2026
Students’ perceptions of their professors’ integration of computation in their probability and statistics courses.
Technology has become an integral part of undergraduate mathematics, particularly the use of technology to solve problems (i.e., the use of computation). In probability and statistics, this push has resulted in several projects designing and assessing tools that are conjectured to be advantageous to students and their learning. Despite this trend, minimal research exists on how students perceive the use of computational tools in their courses. As such, we designed a brief survey for students enrolled in introductory probability and statistics at a university in the Northeastern United States. Using thematic analysis, we qualitatively analyzed these survey responses to explore their perceptions of the integration of computation into their courses. Three themes were identified, relating to features of tools, augmentation of actions, and long-term benefits. This exploration of students’ perceptions allows us to better understand their views on computation and the need for professors to make instructional goals explicit.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2222337
- PAR ID:
- 10639693
- Publisher / Repository:
- Proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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