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We analyse the predictive power of learning strategies for engineering students' performance in mathematics. Learning strategies play an important role in self-regulated learning. Based on a new learning strategy questionnaire that takes into account the specifics of mathematical learning at universities, we investigated what were the strategies that correlate with performance and predict future performance. We present data of a longitudinal study with N = 361 engineering students regressing their performance on students' use of their learning strategies as well as their prior performance. The results indicate that practicing but not repeating the content and resisting frustration predict students' performance. We discuss the findings with a specific view on what is tested and why some elaboration strategies might not be rewarded in exams.

The systematic design and analysis of tasks which can be implemented in first-year university courses and point to advanced inner- and extra-mathematically rich issues and their rationales is an open problem in the didactics of mathematics in higher education. Potentials of such tasks can be seen with regard to learning processes in the first year of study, which are less compartmentalized and allow for an extended acquisition of rationales of advanced mathematical practices and concepts. Against this background, subject-specific potentials of advanced mathematics are examined in this contribution. The Anthropological Theory of the Didactic (ATD) serves as the theoretical framework and in the analyses notions from its 4T-model are applied. Structural observations in praxeological terms are illustrated by examples chosen from a presentation of a classical result in Nonlinear Approximation. At the specific focus of the praxeological analyses are aspects for bridging and extending concepts within and across Analysis. On this basis, tasks designed for first-year university Analysis courses are analysed in detail. Moreover, general characteristics of the methodological approach realized in this contribution are discussed.

This paper investigates the phenomenon of compartmentalisation of knowledge in the teaching and learning of continuous probability distributions and integral calculus at the secondary-tertiary transition in France. Using the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic (ATD), and in particular the key notion of praxeology, we investigate in which sense those two sectors may be described as compartmentalised in current textbooks. We then study, by means of a questionnaire, the educational effects of the compartmentalisation: do students' difficulties in completing "bridging tasks" (tasks that require to relate the two sectors) reflect the partial disconnections revealed by the praxeological analyses? The key notion of ostensive, combined with the role played by the technology in the sense of ATD, is used to interpret the data. Altogether, this study sheds light on the deficit of cognitive flexibility required to change mathematical sectors, which is understood as a result of deficient praxeologies developed within the institutions.

The contribution aims at subject-specific analyses of student solutions of an exercise from an electrical engineering signal theory course. The basis for the analyses is provided by praxeological studies (in the sense of the Anthropological Theory of Didactics) and the identification of two institutional mathematical discourses, one related to higher mathematics for engineers and one related to electrical engineering. Regarding the relationship between institutional observations and analyses of students' solutions, we refer, among others, to Weber's (1904) concept of ideal types. In the subject-specific analyses of student solutions we address in particular transitions and interrelations within single processing steps that refer to the two mathematical discourses and different forms of embedding of mathematics into the electrical engineering context. Finally, we present a few ideas for teaching.

Mathematics learning support centres (MLSC) are widely established and evaluated in English-speaking countries (such as the UK, Ireland and Australia). In most of these countries, several national surveys on MLSCs exist. They give an overview of the number of MLSCs as well as their characteristics in these countries. In Germany, there is a lack of studies on MLSCs and the landscape of MLSCs has not been described yet. This article presents basic information concerning counts of MLSCs and their characteristics at universities. Based on a three-step approach of analysing university homepages and additional personal contact via email or phone calls, we gathered typical MLSC features (e.g. staff quantities and qualification, opening and support hours, supported study programmes). We analysed 190 universities from a web-based register on study programmes. In total, we found 61 MLSCs located at 51 German universities. Another 16 support centres were specialized on mathematics didactics, which means they focussed on didactical and methodological support for preservice teacher students and often provided different teaching materials. Thirty-eight centres were located at universities (62.3%) and 23 MLSCs at universities of applied sciences and comparable universities (37.7%). The MLSCs were different in their sizes of staff and opening hours, and both the numbers of staff and the service hours differed greatly. The student groups MLSCs at German universities focus on differ concerning characteristics like study programme or semester. We will provide the main categories describing these groups. We seek to answer research questions concerning the characteristics of MLSCs in Germany and discuss the results compared to international findings. This information is useful for further international collaborative research, for example a standardized international survey. From a national perspective, these findings support networking and collaborations between the MLSCs as well. As some German MLSCs are facing financial cuts, these results might help in gaining additional funding.

How is the content of university programs selected and structured? How does it evolve? In the anthropological theory of the didactic, external didactic transposition designates the processes through which knowledge to be taught is delimited and developed for delivery within a school institution, including universities. This paper presents a first international comparative research project focused on the external didactic transposition in European and Canadian undergraduate programs in mathematics. The project aims at analyzing the factors that motivate the evolutions of the programs, the procedures to develop them, as well as the constraints that limit broader modifications and can explain their current state. The exploratory study presented in this paper considers 10 case studies from universities in Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, and Spain. Data is mainly collected from semi-structured interviews with faculty having participated in recent design of undergraduate mathematics programs and syllabi. We identify both similarities and differences between programs and syllabi, with the differences being relatively significant between Canadian and European universities when it comes to the overall structure of programs, and less visible when considering the European programs, as well as the processes in general.

The International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology has published a special issue on the INDRUM2022 conference, which focused on research in university mathematics education. The conference featured numerous papers and posters on topics such as the transition to university mathematics, teaching and learning of mathematical concepts, teacher education, and student practices and assessment. The special issue includes 16 papers that provide in-depth analyses of these topics, using theoretical frameworks such as the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic and the Action, Production and Communication approach. The papers offer insights into the challenges and opportunities in university mathematics education and propose instructional strategies to enhance learning outcomes. The editorial encourages readers to explore the papers and join the INDRUM network. Additionally, the text titled "Commognition" is a chapter in the Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education, providing an overview of the concept of commognition, which refers to the cognitive processes involved in mathematical communication and collaboration. The chapter explores various aspects of commognition, including its theoretical foundations, its role in problem-solving and learning, and its implications for mathematics education. The text is part of a larger collection of proceedings from the fourth conference of the International Network for Didactic Research in University Mathematics. [Extracted from the article]

The goal of this article is to deepen our understanding of the entanglement of mathematics in the early COVID-19 discourse in Germany. A theoretical reflection and critique of the concept of mathematical literacy precedes and prepares an exploratory analysis of four concrete instances of expert-layperson communication in the form of media contributions. The theoretical reflection enriches Fischer's (1984, 2001, 2006, 2012) perspective on citizenship education by drawing connections between his work on the implicit and explicit culture of mathematics and other wellknown theories in critical mathematics education. These insights together with the analytical repertoire of Laclau & Mouffe's (2014) discourse theory provide tools and concepts which are used to describe different kinds of expert-layperson communication found in the data material. The empirical analysis details example cases in which mathematics plays a crucial part in the constitution of the roles of and relationships between experts and citizens resp. laypeople. We conclude that phenomena found in our material point to a general basic dilemma that is missing in explanations and suggestions on mathematics literacy in mathematics education discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]