Students working on models; an on-going experimentation in mathematics and chemistry

Abstract

This paper focuses on modelling at upper secondary level. The objective is to give students an understanding of mathematical concepts and methods in close relationship to a domain of reality, as well as to give them insight into the contribution of models of different kinds. This has led to the development of a framework for modeling activities based on the Mathematical Working Spaces theory. The questions at stake concern the operationality of this framework. To what teaching situations can it lead? How do students work in these situations? We examine these questions through an on-going experimentation on models of acid-base transformations.