The Effects of Problem Based Approach on Student's Conceptual Understanding in a University Mathematics Classroom

Abstract

Research studies in Education Faculties and various reports of the related branches of The Minister of National Education, and news of Social Media in Turkey call attention mainly to the educational problems of K-12 levels. The University Mathematics Classroom is almost a forgotten territory. We know that many university freshman students have insufficient backgrounds in mathematics and must take additional care to succeed at university level work. As we know, the success rate of freshman students in calculus is alarming. For many students to transit from high school mathematics tocalculus isdifficult. They are more comfortable with structured problems involvingrote calculations. In calculus, conceptual understanding rather than manipulation of symbols is stressed. Freshman students resist making the transition to a more conceptual approach to mathematics. But in a Problem Based Learning Approach (PBLA), the real world problems assiststudents in this transition by providing physical examples of concepts to which they can relate to their major such as Business or Economy. By PBLA, we combined activities and problems with interactive lectures .The activities provided intensive treatment of a particular concept through student discovery and also gave students problem solving experience. Today a large number of universities are accepting students from a much wider range of academic backgrounds. The student readiness differs greatly in the first year's calculus classes. The calculus is often taught to the “middle or upper level of the class” leaving part of the class disengaged. The collaborative aspects of PBLA meet this challenge as students are provided a more customized teaching of calculus through personal interactions with group members and the instructor. PBLA is an effective means for teaching mathematical concepts which students generally enjoy working on the real world problems.