The role of technology in solving mathematical modeling problems by pre-service teachers

As technology has become an important part of mathematics education, the use of technological tools in modeling studies has gained importance. This situation has turned the focus of studies to the question of how technological integration will affect the solving of modeling problems. This study was carried out to answer this question by considering various types of mathematical modeling problems (experimental and theoretical) and the modeling process. The purpose of this study was to reveal the role of technology in pre-service teachers' approaches to the solving of mathematical modeling problems and their difficulties with this process. Its other purpose was to analyze differences in the role of technology in experimental and theoretical modeling problems. The study was conducted in six weeks in the 2014-2015 fall semester. The study sample consisted of 20 pre-service teachers in their last year at the Elementary Mathematics Education Program at Karadeniz Technical University, Fatih Faculty of Education. The participants worked on six mathematical modeling problems, three experimental and three theoretical problems, in groups of four. They worked on three modeling problems in each session and completed their work in three sessions. Each group was provided a computer with GeoGebra software and internet access and was free to use technology as they want. The data were collected from the videos recorded during their work, the focus group discussions with the groups after each practice, the work files and screencasts of the groups on the computers, the observation notes of the researcher and the joint reports of the groups after solving the problems. The data were analyzed comparatively using content analysis. The results of the study showed that technology facilitates complex and difficult mathematical modeling. For the experimental modeling problems, technology played an active role in every phase of the modeling. It was also used in all phases in the theoretical modeling problems except for the understanding the problem phase. For both the experimental and the theoretical modeling problems, technological tools allowed to analyze the relationships among the data dynamically, to obtain real-life data regarding the problem and produce hypotheses, to determine the variables and analyze the equivalent of the model results in real life. Technology was also used to perform complex mathematical calculations required for the solution. However, overconfidence about the results they obtained using the technology during the generation and verification of appropriate mathematical models yielded negative results. The results show that pre-service teachers encountered a variety of difficulties in each phase of the modeling process. They had more difficulty with theoretical modeling problems than with experimental modeling problems. The difficulties in any phase of mathematical modeling, a circular process, caused problems in the subsequent phases. The use of technological tools significantly contributed to the elimination of these difficulties. These results suggest that technology should be integrated in the mathematical modeling process in order to reduce the complexity of the modeling process and provide richer learning environments for students.