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University Students' Reading of Their First-Year Mathematics Textbooks

This article reports the observed behaviors and difficulties that 11 precalculus and calculus students exhibited in reading new passages from their mathematics textbooks. To gauge the effectiveness of these students' reading, we asked them to attempt straightforward mathematical tasks, based di...

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Published in:	Mathematical thinking and learning 2012-07, Vol.14 (3), p.226-256
Main Authors:	Shepherd, Mary D., Selden, Annie, Selden, John
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Subjects:	ACT Assessment Calculus College Entrance Examinations College students First year students Mathematics education Mathematics Instruction Mathematics Tests Postsecondary education Reading Comprehension Reading skills Scores Teaching Methods Textbook research Textbooks Undergraduate Students University mathematics University students
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creator	Shepherd, Mary D. Selden, Annie Selden, John
description	This article reports the observed behaviors and difficulties that 11 precalculus and calculus students exhibited in reading new passages from their mathematics textbooks. To gauge the effectiveness of these students' reading, we asked them to attempt straightforward mathematical tasks, based directly on what they had just read. The students had high ACT mathematics and high ACT reading comprehension test scores and exhibited much of the Constructively Responsive Reading of good readers as described in the reading comprehension research literature. However, they were not effective readers of their mathematics textbooks. We discuss some reasons for this that might not be easily discernible among the variety of task-working difficulties of less able students. Finally, we pose questions for future research and suggest some implications for teaching.
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subjects	ACT Assessment Calculus College Entrance Examinations College students First year students Mathematics education Mathematics Instruction Mathematics Tests Postsecondary education Reading Comprehension Reading skills Scores Teaching Methods Textbook research Textbooks Undergraduate Students University mathematics University students
title	University Students' Reading of Their First-Year Mathematics Textbooks
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