Sinan Kanbir

University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Mathematical Sciences, Faculty Member

Illinois State University, Mathematics Education, Department Member

Followers

Following

Public Views

Ph.D. in mathematics education. Teach K-12 preservice teacher courses. Main research interests include the development of students' and teachers' algebraic reasoning, particularly in the elementary and middle grades.

less

Alejandra B Osorio

Wellesley College

Andrea Peto

Central European University

Armando Marques-Guedes

UNL - New University of Lisbon

Florin Curta

University of Florida

Prof. Dr. Raffaele Pisano, MSc, HDR (Habil.)

Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille (Lille-1)

Serkan Ozel

Bogazici University

Olga Palagia

National & Kapodistrian University of Athens

Francisco Vazquez-Garcia

Universidad de Cadiz

jelena bogdanovic

Vanderbilt University

Patrick Blessinger

St. John's University

Interests

Uploads

Drafts by Sinan Kanbir

Framing a Classroom Intervention Study in a Middle-School Algebra Environment

It has become a tradition in the field of mathematics education that before a researcher outlines... more It has become a tradition in the field of mathematics education that before a researcher outlines the research design for a study he or she should outline a theoretical framework for the investigation which is about to be conducted. Then, after research questions are stated, and the design of the study is described, the investigation takes place. The data gathering, data analyses, and interpretation are guided by the theoretical framework and conclusions are couched in terms of, and seen in the light of, the theoretical framework. There are many mathematics education researchers who regard this theory-based process as sacrosanct, as absolutely essential for high-quality research. In the first part of this chapter it is argued that the traditional "theoretical-framework" process just described is flawed, that it can result in important aspects of data being overlooked, and that it can lead to incorrect, or inappropriate, conclusions being made. It is argued that the first thing that needs to be done in a mathematics education research investigation is to identify, in clearly stated terms, the problems for which solutions are to be sought. Having done that, historical frameworkswhich have only occasionally been taken seriously by mathematics education researchersshould be provided. Then, having identified the problems and having provided a historical framework, a design-research approach ought to be adopted whereby a theory, or parts of a theory, or a combination of parts of different theories, are selected as most pertinent to the problems which are to be solved. This chapter identifies three main problems: (a) "Why do so many middle-school students experience difficulty in learning algebra?" (b) "What theoretical positions might be likely to throw light on how that problem might be best solved?" (c) "In the light of answers offered for (a) and (b), what are the specific research questions for which answers will be sought in subsequent chapters of this book?"

Sinan Kanbir

Uploads

Drafts by Sinan Kanbir

Papers by Sinan Kanbir

Log In