On the page and on the road: Comparing criteria for solving gearing problems in textbooks and in road bicycling
Class
Article
College
Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services
Faculty Mentor
Victor Lee
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Research into the role of culture in learning has shown that people develop specialized knowledge as they solve problems related to the cultural practices in which they engage. For example, Brazillian candy sellers developed mathematical knowledge based on currency transactions involved in buying and selling candies (Saxe, 1991). Similar knowledge specialization has been found across other populations and practices , including nursing (Hoyles, Noss, & Pozzi, 2001), playing basketball (Nasir, 2000), and carpet laying (Masingila, 1994). This poster is to examine the cultural roots of knowledge as seen in the preferred criteria for identifying successful problem solving. In particular, this poster compares the criteria for solving problems related to gearing described in school textbooks and used by long-time adult recreational cyclists. Gears have been used in education for many years across spatial, kinematic, dynamic, and mathematical domains. School science texts introduce gears beginning in the third grade, yet people continue to struggle to understand how gears work (Lehrer & Schauble, 1998). For cyclists, gearing is an essential part of their practice. To get the most out of their bodies and their bikes, cyclists must manipulate the gearing of their bicycles dozens of times each ride in response to changes in conditions. Data for this study comes from two primary sources: 1) an analysis of K-12 Physical Science and Physics textbooks used in the state of Utah, all published in or around 2013 and 2) interviews with seven long-time recreational cyclists from a local riding group. To aid in comparison, this poster focuses on the conceptual/qualitative and quantitative criteria employed in the texts and by cyclists. The comparison will show that the textbook criteria focus primarily on the function of the machine while the cyclists foreground physical and embodied feedback in arriving at effective problem solutions.
Location
The North Atrium
Start Date
4-12-2018 9:00 AM
End Date
4-12-2018 10:15 AM
On the page and on the road: Comparing criteria for solving gearing problems in textbooks and in road bicycling
The North Atrium
Research into the role of culture in learning has shown that people develop specialized knowledge as they solve problems related to the cultural practices in which they engage. For example, Brazillian candy sellers developed mathematical knowledge based on currency transactions involved in buying and selling candies (Saxe, 1991). Similar knowledge specialization has been found across other populations and practices , including nursing (Hoyles, Noss, & Pozzi, 2001), playing basketball (Nasir, 2000), and carpet laying (Masingila, 1994). This poster is to examine the cultural roots of knowledge as seen in the preferred criteria for identifying successful problem solving. In particular, this poster compares the criteria for solving problems related to gearing described in school textbooks and used by long-time adult recreational cyclists. Gears have been used in education for many years across spatial, kinematic, dynamic, and mathematical domains. School science texts introduce gears beginning in the third grade, yet people continue to struggle to understand how gears work (Lehrer & Schauble, 1998). For cyclists, gearing is an essential part of their practice. To get the most out of their bodies and their bikes, cyclists must manipulate the gearing of their bicycles dozens of times each ride in response to changes in conditions. Data for this study comes from two primary sources: 1) an analysis of K-12 Physical Science and Physics textbooks used in the state of Utah, all published in or around 2013 and 2) interviews with seven long-time recreational cyclists from a local riding group. To aid in comparison, this poster focuses on the conceptual/qualitative and quantitative criteria employed in the texts and by cyclists. The comparison will show that the textbook criteria focus primarily on the function of the machine while the cyclists foreground physical and embodied feedback in arriving at effective problem solutions.