Abstract
The main challenge in teaching is to build experiences that include students and promote their thinking processes required to make meaning of those experiences. Thinking is unique for human beings and is characterized as a continuous rebuilding of high-level mental abilities that are consciously developed over time to create a more sophisticated structure of knowledge. The polytechnic curriculum is generally aimed at training students to become engineering technicians as well as critical thinkers; and at the same time assume personal responsibilities in exercising technical judgments that may contribute to the needs, expectations and growth of the diverse economy of any nation. This study adopts a qualitative approach using thematic analysis to explore polytechnics students' mathematical thinking processes (MTPs) in linear algebra based on Mason's approach. The researchers interviewed seven students; and the selection of the students for the interview was based on their posttest scores previously published in our quantitative study consisting of two students who achieved the highest scores, three students who achieved moderate scores and two students who achieved the least scores. A semi structured interview was used to acquire rich and detail insight in the students' understanding with regards to their MTPs. Deductive coding method was used to generate codes and themes from the interview data as the verbatim quotes of each student are examined. Results of this study showed development of MTPs among the students with respect to specializing, generalizing and conjecturing while convincing shows a non-significant result.
Highlights
Polytechnic education is an important sub-sector of the education system which provides middle level workers for the workforce needed in the industrial and technological development of a country
Teaching and learning of polytechnic linear algebra should be encouraged with a constructive way of finding solution to problems rather than over dependence on the usual conventional approach which sometimes lead to learning through memorization
From the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made for future research: i) The findings of this research show the need for further research on the development of mathematical thinking in linear algebra among polytechnic students
Summary
Polytechnic education is an important sub-sector of the education system which provides middle level workers for the workforce needed in the industrial and technological development of a country. A greater role in terms of students’ mathematical thinking skills is mostly played by teachers because the ability of students to think mathematically may be directly affected by the approaches employed by the teachers in delivering the mathematics instruction and learning [2]. This implies that developing student-centered learning strategies will make the teaching to be effective by promoting and improving the performance of students in the classroom
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