We offer various events for students. On the one hand, we enable students of natural sciences, mathematics and methodology, engineering or economics to participate in a mathematical modeling week for students, which is similar to the CAMMP week for pupils. The modeling week for students is organized in Aachen and Karlsruhe. On the other hand, the RWTH Aachen University offers various seminars and lectures for student teachers. For this CAMMP received the Teaching Award 2019 in the category "Project of the Year" from RWTH Aachen University for its holistic approach to teaching mathematical modeling. Since 2020 CAMMP has also established a seminar in the courses for student teachers.
Through two seminars and one lecture, CAMMP gives students teachers the opportunity to actively try out authentic modeling tasks with students in learning situations. The components of the various courses are similar, although the focus varies depending on the course. At the beginning there will be an introduction to mathematical modeling and an active examination of computer-aided teaching materials on authentic modeling problems. In the course of the following events, the different dimensions of the competence model of Borromeo Ferri et al. (2013), which describes the teacher competences necessary for teaching mathematical modeling, will be addressed to varying degrees (cf. Borromeo Ferri & Blum, 2009, p. 2047).
In detail, the three courses for student teachers are structured as follows:
Lecture: Application and Modeling (Bachelor)
The aim of the lecture is to provide students with solid knowledge in the field of mathematical modeling. At the beginning there is an introduction to the theoretical basics of mathematical modeling from a didactic point of view. Different modeling cycles and their objectives are discussed. Afterwards the students work on various one-day learning modules of the CAMMP days in the pupil role. By dealing with questions from various application areas (e.g. natural sciences, engineering sciences and economics), the role that mathematics plays in everyday life, science and research is to be clarified.
Seminar: Implementation and further development of student workshops (Master or Bachelor)
In this seminar, students will not only carry out complex modeling themselves, but will also develop existing learning materials from the modeling days. The (further) developed materials will then be used within the framework of a CAMMP day and will support the students in their role as teachers. The seminar can be divided into five consecutive phases:
Phase 1: The students gain an insight into the didactic theory of mathematical modeling. Different modeling cycles are discussed and analysed with regard to their objectives.
Phase 2: The students work on different problems of the CAMMP days. They acquire methods of mathematical modeling themselves. In addition, they should discuss the topics and the relevance of the problems in the group and evaluate the structure of the materials themselves as well as their suitability for open modeling with students.
Phase 3: In this phase the students slip into the role of pupils by taking part in a one-day modeling workshop together with a group of pupils. During the implementation, they should identify an aspect of the learning module that has potential for further development.
Phase 4: The further development process takes place in this phase. In addition, they test their change in practice with a group of students. The protected space of CAMMP gives the students the opportunity to gain teaching experience and to test their didactic-methodical actions.
Phase 5: In the last phase of the seminar the students reflect on their own actions in the learning situations with the help of a reflection arc.
Seminar: Mathematical Modeling on a Modeling Week (Master)
In this masters seminar, the students supervise a small group of pupils during a CAMMP week. They will be able to contribute their acquired competences in the field of pedagogy, didactics and teaching methodology. In addition, at the beginning of the modeling week they will develop a question regarding which they will reflect on their experiences in the role of the teacher. Finally, the students write a seminar paper in which they describe the work and the results of the student group as well as their experiences as supervising teachers and reflect on the chosen question. In addition to deepening the basics of modeling, the seminar enables intensive teaching experiences in the field of teaching practice of mathematical modeling.