Can Mathematical Modelling Be Taught and Learned in Primary Mathematics Classrooms: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies

Abstract

STEM education has been promoted in schools worldwide to cultivate students’ 21st-century skills. Mathematical modelling is a valuable method for developing STEM education. However, in this respect, more attention is given to secondary level or above compared with kindergarten or primary level. Teaching mathematics at the primary level is closely related to authentic problems, which is a crucial characteristic of mathematical modelling activities. After screening 239 publications from various databases, we reviewed 10 empirical studies on mathematical modelling at the primary level. In this systematic review, we analysed the following three aspects: (1) the use of professional development intervention methods/strategies to enhance the intervention effects and the competencies of primary teachers to utilize mathematical modelling; (2) the effects of mathematical modelling on primary students and methods of improving their mathematical modelling skills; and (3) methods used to assess the modelling skills of primary school teachers and students. The results indicate that professional development interventions can enhance the teaching quality of mathematical modelling. The components of the interventions should include an introduction to the pedagogy of mathematical modelling, clarifying the role of the teacher and the student in mathematical modelling activities. Through mathematical modelling, students can generate mathematical ideas, explore mathematical theorems independently, develop critical thinking, and improve their metacognitive and communicative skills. The competency of mathematical modelling is often determined using formative assessments of teachers and students. Because limitations still exist in conducting primary-level modelling activities, schools should utilise more standardised assessment methods, provide universal teacher training, and grant more opportunities for primary school students to participate in mathematical modelling activities. The lack of research on cross-cultural contexts should draw the attention of future research.

Design as the basis for integrated STEM education: A philosophical framework

“…The students will also design mathematical expressions or functions and do calculations to optimize their design by modeling to test their optimisations. The steps of mathematical modeling thus resemble, to a large extent, the stages of engineering design in that they systematically address real-world problems (Wei et al, 2022). These kinds of engineering challenges will fit the nature of design as a process encompassing both rational problem solving and reflective practice, and in the philosophical sense a methodology in which both new knowledge is constructed and existing knowledge is employed (De Vries, 2018;Hallström and Ankiewicz, 2019;Vossen et al, 2020).…”

“…Engineers' inquiry is also comparable with scientific inquiry (Sung and Kelley, 2022), something which becomes apparent when designing. Science education can therefore be enhanced by infusing an engineering design approach because it creates opportunity to apply science knowledge and inquiry as well as provide an authentic context for learning mathematical reasoning and modeling for informed decisions during the design process (English, 2022;Wei et al, 2022). The analytical element of the engineering design process allows students to use mathematics and science inquiry to create and conduct experiments that will inform the student about the function and performance of potential design solutions before a final prototype is constructed.…”

“…While this statement certainly validates the philosophical framework put forward in this article, McLure et al (2022) also express concerns about the lack of relevance to the students' contexts or interests, as well as the lack of actual STEM integration, in the studied projects (p. 10-12). Consequently, we argue that to obtain successful STEM integration and student engagement in classrooms one should import pedagogical approaches to teaching STEM which include problem-, project-, design-, or inquiry-based teaching approaches or strategies (e.g., Wei et al, 2022). We argue that technology and engineering design projects may be very suitable to promote all the design types which relate to the separate STEM subjects or domain-specific knowledge.…”

Transformative approaches and challenges in 21st century mathematics education: A comprehensive review

“…A potent tool in this endeavor is mathematical modeling. This acts as a conduit between theoretical math and tangible, real-world applications [60,61,62]. Through modeling, students can encapsulate complex problems in mathematical terms, offering a systematic approach to challenges [60,61,62].…”

Development of Mathematical Cognitive Test Instruments on Fraction Materials for Elementary School Students Based on Idea Exploration Ability

“…Idea Exploration is the ability to explore ideas as an individual's capacity or ability to think of solutions to solving problems using various ways (Wei et al, 2022). As a basis for developing an idea exploration test instrument, the researcher first examines the dimensions, aspects, and indicators of the ability to explore ideas.…”