Ali Delice and Mahmut Kertil

INVESTIGATING THE REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY OF PRE-

SERVICE MATHEMATICS TEACHERS IN A MODELLING
PROCESS
Received: 16 February 2012; Accepted: 1 April 2013

ABSTRACT. This article reports the results of a study that investigated pre-service
mathematics teachers’ modelling processes in terms of representational fluency in a modelling
activity related to a cassette player. A qualitative approach was used in the data collection
process. Students’ individual and group written responses to the mathematical modelling
activity, video-taped and transcribed group discussions, and classroom observations, were the
main sources of data. This study was conducted during the spring semester in 2010. Fifty-five
pre-service teachers were the participants in the study. Systematic coding and descriptive
statistics were used in analysing the data. The data showed that a difficulty with modelling was
closely related to the difficulty in the transformation of semiotic representations. During the
modelling process, the two types of transformations, which were the treatments within a register
and conversions between registers, occurred concurrently. In addition, the challenging and
motivating nature of the modelling process in terms of directing participants to form consistent
transformations between and within different representation registers was observed.

KEY WORDS: mathematical modelling, problem solving, representational fluency,

semiotic representations, transformation of representations

INTRODUCTION

The historical development of any simple mathematical idea is actually not so

simple. It took hundreds of years for the reification of many algebraic ideas
that are introduced as if they were very simple to understand in today’s
classrooms (Sfard, 1995). From the pedagogical point of view, Sfard (ibid)
argues that the reification that is needed for conceptual understanding cannot
be expected from a student before familiarity with the steps that mathema-
ticians go through has been introduced. Actually, this issue is restated
differently as being how we can teach mathematics in a more meaningful way
in many mathematics education studies. Traditional word problems
(decontextualized real world problems) and application problems have been
used throughout history to achieve this aim, but many studies have revealed
that these kinds of problems are far from meeting these expectations (e.g.
Greer, 1997; Nunes, Schliemann & Carraher, 1993; Reusser & Stebler, 1997).
Recently, teaching important mathematical concepts to students in the process

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2013

# National Science Council, Taiwan 2013
 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

of mathematical modelling of meaningful real-life situations has been

suggested as an effective way of meaningful learning, by many researchers
(e.g. Lesh &, Doerr 2003; Gravemeijer &, Stephan 2002). Moreover, using
mathematical modelling in teaching and learning mathematics has been
identified as a key carrier of reform in mathematics education in many
countries (e.g. Department for Education (DFE), 1997; Talim ve Terbiye
Kurulu Başkanlığı (TTKB), 2005). The main competencies and skills that are
aimed at by mathematics education can be achieved by engaging students in
modelling situations—which is the basic argument behind the emphasis on
mathematical modelling in many curricular documents.
In general, mathematical modelling is the process of mathematizing,
interpreting, verifying, revising and generalizing real-life situations or complex
systems (Lesh & Doerr, 2003; Lingefjärd, 2002). The modelling process
involves a series of develop–test–revise cycles, each of which requires different
ways of thinking about the nature of givens, goals and different solution steps,
while only the process from givens to goals is stressed in the traditional problem
solving approach (Lingefjärd, 2000; Lesh & Harel, 2003). According to Lesh &
Doerr (2003), modelling activities involve local conceptual development by
having students extend, revise or refine powerful mathematical constructs
(ideas) in small periods. In addition, this process has been shown to increase
student motivation by providing a context to support important processing skills
such as mathematical problem solving, reasoning, communication and
mathematical connections (Lesh & Doerr, 2003; Zbiek & Conner, 2006).
Flexible use of multiple representations for investigating and communi-
cating about real-life phenomena is highly stressed as being the ability that
students have to develop in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
standards documents (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(NCTM), 2000). Since modelling activities involve mathematization of a
real phenomenon, the usage of a variety of representations becomes
inevitable for communication, sharing and documentation of mathematical
ideas. According to Cramer (2003), the flexible use of multiple representa-
tions is an important indicator of students’ modelling abilities and their
conceptual understanding of basic mathematical constructs. Any represen-
tation cannot fully describe a mathematical situation or a mathematical
concept and so different representations have different advantages for
representing different aspects of the same mathematical concept (Goldin
1998). In general, establishing meaningful links between different represen-
tations and transforming them can be described as representational fluency
(Lesh, 1999; Duval, 2006). The importance of representational fluency in
mathematical modelling is stressed from the various aspects that act as an
important component of the modelling cycle (Lesh & Lehrer, 2003), as an
 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

important indicator of modelling abilities (Cramer, 2003) and as the tool

system used in the model documentation process (Lesh, Hoover, Hole, Kelly
& Post, 2000). However, these are theoretical arguments stated by a few
researchers from studies that are not specifically researching the represen-
tational fluency–modelling connection. From our point of view, more
evidence from empirical studies is needed to understand how and in what
ways representational fluency affects the modelling process and to describe
the modelling process in terms of the transformation of representations. In
this study, we try to investigate how the transformation of representations
affects pre-service teachers’ modelling processes when looking at represen-
tational fluency from Duval’s (2006) semiotic representations perspective.
The research questions investigated are the following: (1) What modes of
representations appear in the modelling processes of pre-service teachers?
(2) How do the transformations of representations appear in and affect the
modelling process? The findings of this study may contribute to the research
area of mathematical modelling as well as the construct of representational
fluency for which area further research studies have been suggested (Zbiek,
Heid, Blume & Dick, 2007).

LITERATURE REVIEW

Various studies have evidenced how teachers avoid using modelling

problems in their classrooms (Blum & Niss, 1991; Doerr, 2007; Oliveira
& Barbosa, 2009; Sriraman & Lesh, 2006). Because it requires a flexible
use of multiple representations and representational fluency, mathematical
modelling of real-life situations is challenging not only for students but
also for teachers (Doerr, 2007). Lack of experience and knowledge related
to the pedagogical issues such as how to manage the process, how to
integrate the topic, how to evaluate unexpected solutions and how to
direct students into more fruitful paths and time limitations are some of
the reasons for avoiding using modelling in classrooms. The ICMI study
on applications and modelling in mathematics education reported that
mathematics teacher education programs rarely use modelling in
prospective teacher’s mathematics courses and called for research studies
on developing training strategies improving prospective teachers’ model-
ling competencies and their professional knowledge for teaching
applications and modelling (Blum, 2002; Oliveira & Barbosa, 2009).
Solving modelling problems with pre-service teachers in small groups as
if they were students is suggested because of the potential for providing
challenging and thought-provoking experiences for them (English,
 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

2003; Lingefjärd, 2002; Schorr & Lesh, 2003). The study by Zbiek &
Conner (2006) on mathematical modelling activities provided pre-service
teachers with the opportunity to deeper learning of curricular mathematics
and the motivation to learn new curricular mathematics.
We could not find any study focusing directly on modelling and
representational fluency. However, a few studies investigated representa-
tional fluency in problem solving and some specific content domains. Elia,
Gagatsis, and Demetriou (2007) have investigated the possible effects of
introducing the problem with different modes of representations (e.g.
pictures, in spoken language or words and symbols) on young students’
problem solving performances. Translation of a problem situation into
another mode of representational system was the main difficulty and this was
interpreted as a significant factor influencing students’ problem solving
performances by the authors. In addition, some research studies in specific
content domains such as algebraic equations (Suh & Moyer, 2007),
derivative (Santos & Thomas, 2001) and functions (Elia, Panaoura,
Eracleus & Gagatsis, 2007) have investigated how the flexible use of
multiple representations determines students’ understanding of particular
mathematical topics. In these studies, conceptual understanding of a concept
is associated with fluency in operating between different representations.
This study, as a part of a method course covering teaching methods
in mathematics, one of which is mathematical modelling, investigates
pre-service teachers’ use of multiple representations in the modelling
process. We do not directly deal with pre-service teachers’ pedagogical
developments related to modelling. Pre-service teachers’ ways of
thinking and the difficulties which appeared during a modelling
activity are investigated from the perspective of the transformation of
representations.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Because we have investigated representational fluency in the modelling

process, mathematical modelling and multiple representations will be two
aspects of the conceptual framework of this study.

Mathematical Modelling
As discussed previously, the term mathematical modelling is the process of
mathematizing, interpreting, verifying, revising and generalizing real-life
situations or complex systems. However, there is not a homogeneous
 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

understanding of mathematical modelling and there exist some different

points of view, such as realistic or applied modelling and contextual
modelling (Kaiser & Sriraman, 2006). It is difficult to make a strict distinction
between these perspectives, but nuances in pedagogical, psychological,
subject-related, and science-related goals create the differences (ibid).
Detailed discussion on these perspectives is beyond the scope of this paper,
but it is important to be aware of the existence of different perspectives on
mathematical modelling.
In the current study, models and modeling perspectives (MMP) in
mathematics education proposed by Lesh and Doerr (2003) is adopted.
This theory-based perspective comes with comprehensive and novel ideas
for all aspects of mathematics education such as one essential idea
appears for problem solving in mathematics. They suggest mathematical
modelling activities (model-eliciting in their terms) instead of traditional
word problems. Modelling activities involve sharable, manipulatable,
modifiable and reusable conceptual tools (e.g. models) for constructing,
describing, predicting or controlling mathematically significant systems
(Lesh & Harel, 2003). Model-eliciting activities require students or
teachers to develop a model that describes a real-life situation, including
describing, revising and refining their ideas, and encourage them to use
representational media to explain (and document) their conceptual
systems (Lesh & Doerr, 2003).
According to MMP, conceptual systems constructed by individuals can be
expressed and shared across a variety of representational media using spoken
language, written symbols, concrete materials, diagrams or pictures, computer
programs, experience-based metaphors or other representational media
(Johnson & Lesh, 2003; Kaiser & Sriraman, 2006). The sharable, modifiable
and reusable properties of constructed conceptual tools and systems (e.g.
models) in modelling activities necessitate using representations in a flexible
way. In this context, the role of representational fluency and the definition of
representational fluency are the issues that we will discuss in the following
sections.

Representational Fluency
Lesh’s translation model suggests that mathematical ideas can be represented
in different modes, which include pictures, real-life contexts, verbal symbols
and written symbols (cited in Cramer, 2003). According to this model, the
ability to represent mathematical ideas in multiple ways and the ability to
translate within and between different modes of representations are the
indicators of meaningful understanding. The ability to establish meaningful
 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

links between different representations and to translate from one mode of

representation to another have been defined as representational fluency (Lesh
1999). According to Zbiek et al. (2007), the term representational fluency is
more than the translation between different modes of representations. They
have defined representational fluency as follows:

Representational fluency includes the ability to translate across representations, the ability
to draw meaning about a mathematical entity from different representations of that
mathematical entity, and the ability to generalize across different representations. (p.1192)

Duval’s (2006) semiotic representation systems in mathematics look at

representations from a different perspective and provide a comprehensive
explanation for representational fluency. Semiotic representations and
their complex associations involve all kinds of elements, such as signs,
symbols, graphs, numbers, operations and processes that are used to
describe a system and a process in mathematics. Semiotic representations
are common tools used for representing and communicating mathematical
objects. They are also used for working on and producing new knowledge
such as mathematical objects. As represented in Fig. 1, Duval mentions
several semiotic representational systems (registers in his terms) classified
according to the multi-functional or mono-functional property of

Figure 1. Semiotic representation systems (Duval, 2006, p.110)

 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

processes, and the discursive or non-discursive nature of operations by

which representations are produced.
According to Duval (2006), when compared to common cognitive
processes used in other areas of knowledge, mathematics has extra sources
of incomprehension, one of which results from its different semiotic
representation registers. Because mathematical processing involves substitut-
ing one semiotic representation for another, the transformation of semiotic
representations is especially a main source of difficulty in the learning of
mathematics. Duval (2006) mentions two types of transformations of semiotic
representations: treatment and conversion. Treatments are the transformation
of representations within the same register (curved arrows in Fig. 1).
Conversions, on the other hand, are the transformation of representations
between different representations systems (registers) (straight arrows in
Fig. 1). According to Duval, treatment is mostly emphasized in mathematics
teaching and learning, but conversion is more complex and difficult, and it is
the main source of difficulty in the conceptual understanding of mathematics.
The complexity of conversion stems from the difficulty of recognizing the
same mathematical object through two different representations whose
contents are heterogeneous. Although some distinctions appeared in the
descriptions of Duval’s transformation of representations and representational
fluency, these two terms are used interchangeably throughout this paper
depending mostly on Duval’s perspective.

METHODOLOGY

A qualitative approach is used in the data collection and data analysis process.
A case study method is used to make an in-depth examination of the
transformation of representations through the modelling process (Cohen,
Manion & Morrison, 2000).

Participants
The study was conducted with 55 pre-service secondary mathematics
teachers attending a 2-year mathematics teacher certification program in a
state university in Istanbul. All the participants are graduates from a 4-year
mathematics major during which they had completed about 25 mathematics
courses and attended a 2-year certification program for becoming mathe-
matics teachers in high schools. The research was conducted in the
“Teaching Methods in Mathematics Education” course in the 2010 spring
semester. Modelling activities are included in the content of the course for
 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

developing pre-service teachers’ basic pedagogical qualifications with

regard to the classroom implementation of modelling activities. Although
the importance of modelling applications in teaching mathematics is
emphasized in the national mathematics curricula (TTKB, 2005), up to this
course, participants were inexperienced in how to work on modelling
activities. Pre-service teachers worked on a series of four modelling activities
in the course. This study has reported results from the “Cassette Player”
activity implemented in the period of one lesson (60 min). The “Cassette
Player” was implemented as the last activity in the sequence of four
modelling activities, and so pre-service teachers’ experience with modelling
activities was limited to only the previous three activities.

Data Sources and Procedures

Pre-service teachers’ individual and group written responses for the
modelling activity, video-taped group discussions and the field notes of the
researcher are the main sources of data. Participants studied the following
modelling activity adapted from Lingefjärd (2000):

MODELLING ACTIVITY: CASSETTE PLAYER

Consider an ordinary cassette placed in a tape recorder. When the tape is played, it is
transferred from one reel to the other at a constant speed. Try to explain the changes in
the radii of the roll of the tape on both reels mathematically.

Note: The figure was not provided to participants during the implementation.
We have to mention the concepts and processes that will be required in
the solution process as the pre-analysis for the task. In this problem,
participants are expected to explain the working system of a tape recorder
mathematically. The problem seems so simple that everyone at any grade
can say something about it. However, higher order mathematical and
physical concepts are included in the problem too. Any student at earlier
grades can explain the working system in words, something like “the
radius of one of reels increases while the other’s radius decreases”, and
come to learn something about an application of the concept of an inverse
 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

relation in mathematics. Furthermore, thinking something more about the

nature of this inverse relationship by considering their rates will involve the
concept of a rate of change. Moreover, thinking about the speed concept for
both sides of the reels, linear and angular speed concepts in physics may
come into play. Inverse proportion, rate of change, linear and angular speeds
are the basic concepts in this problem that participants may cover intuitively
or explicitly during individual or group work processes.
Before studying the problem, participants were asked if they knew about
how a tape recorder works, and this was demonstrated to them with a playing
recorder. About all the participants indicated their previous experiences with
tape recorders”. Nevertheless, they all became familiar with tape recorders
playing cassettes, with the demonstration reminding them how a tape recorder
works.
For the rest of the lesson, the time schedule was planned as follows: In the
first 25 min, all the pre-service teachers studied the problem individually. After
that, papers including individual responses were collected. During the second
25 min of the session, small groups consisting of three or four people were
formed, and the pre-service teachers studied the same problem by undertaking
group work. Participants studied with the same group throughout the four
modelling activities. One group was selected during the first implementation by
taking into account the quality of the group discussions and was observed and
videotaped by one of the researchers. For the other groups, a group reporter
noted the important points of the group discussion process. At the end of this
second 25 min of the session, written group solutions were collected. This group
reporting was followed by a whole class discussion (each of the groups
presented their solutions to the rest of the class) in the last part of the lesson
(10 min). The primary aim of individuals working before the group work and
the group work before the classroom discussion was to increase the quality and
efficiency of the group discussions and classroom discussion. Since all
participants had thought about and proposed a solution for the problem before
the group work, they started the group discussion with a detailed understanding
of the problem.

Data Analysis
In the analysis of data, at first, the pre-service teachers’ individual and group
written solutions, and the transcribed videotaped group discussions were
carefully examined by the researchers to obtain a general sense of the data.
Later, we began the detailed analysis with a coding process by which the data
was organized and prepared for generating descriptions with regard to the
transformation of representations in the modelling process (Creswel, 2003). The
 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

codes were formed by analysing written solutions and the annotated group
discussion. Two researchers coded the data separately at first and later the
common coding was decided in agreement. The coding and categories were
determined for two domains, which were the iconic representations and other
semiotic representations, collated separately. The codes were developed by the
authors in agreement and checked by an external researcher. Descriptive
statistics (frequency tables) were used for narrating and representing the themes
of the data within each coding system, and the qualitative data, supported with
episodes from group discussions, were provided. The episodes from the group
discussions and individual written solutions quoted were translated from
Turkish to English by the researchers and checked by an experienced translator
who was also an academic staff member. All the participants were assigned a
number from 1 to 55 and the codes S1 to S55 were used in place of their names.

RESULTS

The reporting of the results starts with the descriptive data showing
participants’ preferences for various semiotic representations along with
their usage frequencies. We also provide descriptive data for the transfor-
mation of semiotic representations by also evaluating the consistency of
semiotic representations along with the mathematical object that were used
to be described. We also provided qualitative data from group discussions
and solution reports to better articulate the dynamics of the transformation of
semiotic representations during the modelling processes.

Pictorial Representation
Participants created a picture of the cassette player to better visualize the
situation during individual and group work. From Duval’s (2006) semiotic
representation perspective, pictures created by participants are iconic represen-
tations resulting from the non-discursive operations in multi-functional registers.
Four different kinds of iconic representation of the cassette player appeared in
individual and group solutions (Table 1). When we looked at these iconic
representations provided by the pre-service teachers, we observed different
pictures showing completely different mechanical systems when compared to
the true system of a playing cassette. The visual appearance and explanations of
the categories are as follows:
These different pictures express completely different mechanical
systems. When the working system of a cassette player is considered,
the reels on both side turn in the same direction, there is a transfer from
 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

TABLE 1
The categories of pictorial representations provided by participants
Coding of Description of categories Pictorial representations of
Categories categories

P1 Does not give the idea of a change in radii, a change

in speed (although the angular speed is different on
the different sides), and there is no transfer from one
reel to the other. The direction of turning is different
on the A and B sides.
P2 Reels turn in the same directions, but does not give
the idea of a change in radii, a change in speed
(although the angular speed is different on different
sides),and there is no wrapping from one reel to another.
P3 Conveys the ideas of wrapping, change in
radius, and change in angular speed. (This is
accepted as the correct picture of the situation).

P4 Conveys the idea of wrapping and so the idea of

a change in radius and speed. But the direction
of turning is different oin the different sides.

NR No pictorial representation provided.

one side to the other and there is a change in radius, and in angular speed
of the reels on both sides. Only picture 3 conveys these ideas at the same
time. Therefore, the iconic representations coded as P1, P2 and P4 do not
represent the true working system of a tape recorder.
As can be seen in Table 2, 33 % of all pre-service teachers did not provide an
iconic representation, and so 67 % of them drew a picture. Only 38 % of the pre-
service teachers provided a correct picture of the situation that is coded as P3. In
group work, 60 % of groups provided the correct picture of the situation. This
shows that pre-service teachers benefitted from these iconic representations at
the beginning of the mathematical analysis of the changes in the radii of the
reels.

TABLE 2
Percentages of pictorial representations

P1 P2 P3 (correct) P4 NR

Individual (N=55) 4 9 38 16 33
Group (N=15) 0 20 60 13 7
 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

Other Semiotic Representations Used

In addition to pictorial representations, verbal, graphical, tabular and
algebraic representations from different registers also appeared in the
participants’ discussions and written solutions. Pre-service teachers’
preferences for different semiotic representations from different registers
were analysed and represented by translating them to the graphical
representation (Table 3). Although each semiotic representation used
comes from different registers, to standardize the mathematical meaning

TABLE 3
Conversion of semiotic representations used by participants to graphical form
Coding of Description of categories Graphical representations of categories
Categories
M1 The representation fits the Model 1
(In natural language: There is a linear
relationship between two radii as a function of
time)

M2 The representation fits with Model 2

(In natural language: The first radius decreases
with a decreasing pattern, and the second one
increases with an increasing pattern, both as a
function of time.

M3 In natural language: The first radius decreases

with an increasing pattern, and the second one
increases with a decreasing pattern, both as a
function of time.

M2-M3 One part of the representation fits with Model 2

while the other part fits with Model 3.

M4 The representation fits with Model 4.

Express the (inverse) covariational relationship
between two radii. The first radius decreases with
a decreasing pattern with respect to the
second radius

NR No response or this mode of representation

does not exist in the solution
 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

indicated by each representation, a graphical representation which is a

semiotic representation from mono-functional register is used. Each form
of graphical representations is named as being a model (model 1 to model 4).
Different representations from different registers observed in written
responses were classified with one or more of these models. In this way, we
could focus not only on the transformation (in the form of treatment and
conversion) from one mode of representational register to another but also on
their transformation capabilities by looking at the consistency of the frequencies
between different registers. The results from the individual and group studies on
the problem are summarized descriptively in Table 4. The columns of the table
may give an idea of the treatment within a representation register, while the rows
indicate conversion between different registers.
Table 4 shows that 75 % of the participants provided a verbal explanation
which is from a multi-functional register: 51 % of these expressions fit with M1,
18 % of these representations fit with M3, 2 % of them fit with M4 and 4 % of
them have some confusion between M2 and M3. When we looked at group
work, 80 % of the 15 groups provided a verbal explanation, but 27 % of them
expressed M1, 6 % of them expressed M2, 27 % of them expressed M3 and
20 % of the explanations reflected confusion between M2 and M3. Sixty
percent of the groups provided a graphical representation, 40 % of them
provided an algebraic representation, and only one tabular representation was
used in the written solutions reflecting the different models. Specifically
focusing on M3, in individual studies, we observed that only 18 % of the
participants had provided a verbal expression, 2 % of them could provide a
graphical representation and 7 % of them could provide an algebraic

TABLE 4
Percentages of representations used in individual and group studies

Semiotic representations

Nind =55
Ngrp =15 Verbal Graphical Algebraic Tabular

In Gr In Gr In Gr In Gr

M1 51 27 25 13 13 27 0 6
M2 0 6 5 13 0 0 0 0
M3 18 27 2 13 7 13 2 0
M4 2 0 2 0 7 0 0 0
M2-M3 4 20 11 20 0 0 0 0
Total 75 80 45 60 27 40 2 6
NR 25 20 55 40 73 60 98 94
 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

representation indicating this model. M1 is frequently observed in different

representational registers.
From the descriptive data, it can be observed from Table 4 that participants
not only had difficulty with conversion between different registers (rows), they
also had some difficulties with treatments within the same register (columns).
Participants frequently used verbal explanations, but when the mathematical
object is considered in the given situation, most of the explanations did not
indicate it. When the representations (see total row in Table 4) used in individual
and group written responses is examined, in general, there is a decrease in the
frequency of representations from the verbal to the graphical–algebraic–tabular
continuum. This is an important indicator of the inability to convert a semiotic
representation from one particular register to another. In addition, when we
consider the semiotic representations provided in a particular register, the lack of
representativeness of the provided representation for the related mathematical
object is observable (columns in Table 4). Participants in individual and group
work used a verbal explanation as the reference representations, which is from
the multi-functional with a discursive operation register.
Up to now, the descriptive analyses of pre-service teachers’ preferences for
different representations by focusing on their transformation have been
mentioned. In the following section, a qualitative analysis of the group
discussions and individual work are provided. The conversations provided, as in
episodes 1 and 2 below show how pre-service teachers expressed their thoughts
by using representations from different registers, how they interpreted the given
constant speed in the question and how treatment within and conversion
between the verbal explanations and graphical representations occurred.
Episode 1, taken from the discussion of Group 5, is provided below as the
first example. Group 5 carries out the discussion with four members.
Episode 1: (Translated from Turkish)
S21: The radius of the empty reel increases and the other one decreases by time. (Verbal
explanation, M1)
S35: This is true, but it is not so simple, I think we have to think about how they increase
or decrease.
S41: The constant speed is already given in the question, but how can it be constant?
S21: I think the empty-reel side of the tape will spin faster than the other reel.
S41: Although a constant speed is emphasized in the question, this is constant for only one
reel, the speed will change and increase eventually for the other one.
S21: I think we have to focus on only the changes in the radius of the reels. Let’s consider
there is no change in the speed for a while; the radius of both sides is changing …

At the beginning of the discussion, S21 focused on the changes of both

radii and verbally explained this change with M1. He later considered the
change in the speeds of both reels as a result of the question by S41.
 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

Although they tried to evaluate the meaning of constant speed already

given in the question, in the first phase, they decided to focus only on the
change in radii without an agreement on the speed of the reels. As can be
seen in episode 1, while thinking about changes in the radii, most of
participants and groups also focused on the change in the speeds of the
reels. The pre-service teachers continued their discussion as follows:

Episode 2: (Translated from Turkish)

S35: The radius is increasing by a decreasing rate … (Verbal explanation, M3)
S12: One of the radii increasingly increases while the other side decreasingly increases …
(Verbal explanation, M3)
S41: Wait a minute I am confused.
S35: Oh! I see, I can explain this to you on a graph. The graph is like that for the
increasing reel (drawing the “time versus r2” graph as M2) (Converting to graphical form)
S21: No. This is not true. This graph is explaining increasing by an increasing rate of
change … I think the correct graph will be like that (drawing the “time versus r2” graph as
M3). This graph is expressing that the radius is increasing by a decreasing rate. (Treatment
on the graph)
S41: Let’s try to visualize the conditions of both radii by giving numerical values at
different times (assigned values (30, 10), (20, 20), (10, 30) for the full and empty sides,
respectively) (Converting to tabular representation)
S35: If we think in this way, then the graph will be like that (drawing the “time versus r1
and r2” graphs as M1) (Converting the graphical form)

In a small part of the whole discussion seen in episode 2, the pre-service

teachers tried to interpret the situation by using verbal and graphical
representations. In the discussion, pre-service teachers first realize the
inverse relationship between two radii and they explain this simultaneous
variation verbally. In the explanation by S12, his attention to the intensity
of change is observable by the expression “increasingly increases”. When
another group member was confused and could not get the idea from this
explanation, S35 needed to explain by using a graphical representation
that is from another register. Although S35 reflected M3 in a verbal
explanation, he constructed a graph as seen in M2 (see Table 3). He could
not convert the verbal explanation to the graphical form. S21 realized the
inconsistency and he tried to explain by drawing the true graph. However,
another student was not convinced by this explanation and tried to
visualize the behaviour of the graph by assigning some numerical values
to it, and they returned to the beginning. In this discussion, the difficulty
of converting the verbal explanation into the graphical representation is
observable. Only the verbal explanation was not sufficient for the
participants to comprehend the situation. They needed representations
from different registers, especially from the graphical one. While
supporting the verbal explanation by converting another representation,
 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

they also reconsidered their verbal explanation and tried to develop it by

keeping in mind the real situation. The transformation in the form of
conversion plays the role of a controlling system for the mathematical
fidelity between the first preferred representation and the real situation.
The following episode is provided as another example to describe the
nature of the transformations of the semiotic representations appearing in
the modelling process. Group 1 carried out the discussion with four
members who constructed an iconic representation coded as P3, and then
they focused on the simultaneous changes of both radii (Fig. 2).
Episode 3: (Translated from Turkish)
S5: The radius of the first reel will increase, and the other one will decrease by time …
(Verbal expression)
S27: For the first reel, the increase in radius will increase, so we can graph it like that
(concave upwards graph). So the other one will decrease like that (concave upwards
graph, see Fig. 3) (Conversion from verbal to graph)
S5: Just a minute, the radius of the second reel will decrease slowly at the beginning, and
later it will decrease more rapidly (Revisiting the verbal explanation).
S27: Hmmm, is there a problem with this graph? Is it like that (concave upwards) or that
(concave downwards)? (Treatment, revisiting the graph)
S33: Why do you draw a curve? It must be linear I think, because if we think the amount
of the band as being distance, the amount of released band is equal to the amount of
wrapped band. For example, the first one goes from 0 to 2r, while the other one goes from
2r to 0. (Conversion from graph to verbal)
S27: It seems to me that this cannot be linear, because we are working with radii. It must
have an increasingly increased character (indicating the radius of first reel). (Treatment,
revisiting verbal explanation)
S33: Radius r, hmm, pi r square, spanning an area.
S27: Let’s think from another way. For each round of the full reel, the empty reel goes round more
than once. That is to say for every unit decrease in the radius of second reel, the radius of first reel
will increase more than one unit (Treatment, revisiting verbal explanation).

Figure 2. An image from group 1’s discussion process

 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

Figure 3. Graphing as M2

S5: Hmmm, then (pointing to the second reel) the graph should be symmetrical with this
(concave upward) one? (indicating dashed curve on Fig. 4) (Converting verbal to graph
and revisiting the graph)

In the episode above, S5 started to think about changes in the radii of

reels with simple verbal explanations from the multi-functional register.
Then, S27 detailed a verbal explanation by also considering the intensity
of change with expressions such as an “increase in radius will increase”,
and he converted this explanation to the graphical form consistently. S5

Figure 4. Modifying the graph

 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

continued thinking with a verbal explanation, and he perceived some

inconsistency with S27’s explanation and drawing. He provided another
verbal explanation. With this explanation, S27 could not be sure about his
graph and asked if this curve is true or not. S33 offered a linear graph, and
S27 tried to explain intuitively the rationale of why the graph could not be
a line. Thinking twice, S27 returned to the verbal explanation, and he
provided another explanation reflecting the idea of a unit per unit
thinking. Surely, while keeping uniformly constant in changes in one
variable and focusing on the simultaneous change in another variable are
mathematically more sophisticated ways of thinking. With the explana-
tion of S27, S5 realized the inconsistency with the graph constructed by
S27.
In the above episode, two types of transformations, which are treatment
and conversion, appeared concurrently. Participants used verbal and
graphical forms of representations. They began with verbal explanations
and needed a conversion to another semiotic representation to support
their reasoning. Conversion between different registers occurred back and
forth between verbal and graphical representational forms, and continued
in this way in the rest of the discussion up to a point where all the
participants reached an agreement. For every movement back and forth,
they also modified the verbal explanation and the graphical representa-
tion, which are coded as the treatment within a register.
Returning to the constant speed indicated in the problem text, for some
pre-service teachers a conceptual meaning making process as a result of
the transformation of different representations was also observed in the
modelling processes. While discussing the changes in radii of two reels,
treatments within a register and conversion between different registers
resulted in the clarification of an unexpected concept by some
participants, which is the linear and angular speed. By resolving this
problem, although we tried to make pre-service teachers focus on the
change in radii by emphasizing “constant speed” in the problem text, they
also focused on the speed concept. In individual and group work, a
considerable amount of time was spent on the speed concept. While pre-
service teachers thought about the change in radii of both reels, some of them
became suspicious about how it was possible for the speed to be constant.
As can be observed in episode 3 from a group discussion, the pre-service
teachers’ difficulty with discriminating angular and linear speed concepts
appeared. This also appeared in other group discussions. The following excerpt
from the discussion of group 8 with four members shows how participants
concentrated on the speed concept and how they discriminated between two
types of speeds.
 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

Episode 4: (Translated from Turkish)

S26: I think the radius of the full-reel side of the tape will decrease by an increasing speed.
The radius of the empty-side will increase by a decreasing speed. (Verbal explanation)
S2: The empty-side reel will turn faster, and the full-side reel will turn slower, but oh.., the
constant speed is already given in the question.
S4: The releasing speed of the band of the full-side reel is constant, and the turning speed
of the empty-side is changing. (Verbal explanation)
S26: If the speed of one reel is changing, the others’ speed should also change ...
S18: Let’s think for the full-side (A). For the first cycle, the reel will release a 2πR length
of band. The empty-side (B) will wrap the same length of band by 2πR 2πr number of turns. If
we accept “a” = the thickness of the band”, then for the first cycle, the radius of A will be
R−a and so the radius of B will be r þ Rr a . So we realize here that when the A-side
turns one time, the B-side is turning Rr times, which implies the turning speed cannot be
constant. Therefore, we can say the pulling speed is different from the turning speed.
(Verbal explanation supported with sophisticated symbolic representations)

The first three students provided different verbal explanations indicating

constant speed and varying speeds. Although each of the verbal explanations
had some correct features, the group members could not reach agreement
about them. S18 provided a robust explanation by supporting it with algebraic
(symbolic) expressions and they reached agreement about this explanation.
From the semiotic representation perspective, participants needed to be
converting a verbal explanation to the representation from a different register
to comprehend the situation. This does not mean conversion always results in
comprehension, but for conceptualizing the mathematical object, a successful
conversion between various registers seems essential. Pre-service teachers
who thought about releasing and wrapping a certain length of band concluded
that the number of turnings is not equal for the two reels and they reached the
idea that the number of turns in a unit time is different on the different sides.
As one example observed in episode 4, the following explanation of S10 on
the individual written solution paper also shows how an individual gets the
idea of linear and angular speed by using a verbal explanation supported by
algebraic expressions.

…When reel A turns an “α” degree angle, it releases the length of the “x” unit band in “t”
times. Reel B has to wrap this band (having a length of an “x” unit) also in “t” times. If we
consider that reel B wrapped this length by turning a “β” angle, it is clear that β 9 α. So,
the angles α and β are directly proportional to the speeds of both reels. An increasing
change in the speed of reel A and a decreasing change in the speed of reel B will continue
until the radius of both reels becomes equal. The instantaneous speeds will be equal at the
time the radii become equal, and later the wrapping process will continue where reel A
will be faster than reel B. The important point here is that the speed of the band is different
from the turning speed of the reels. (S10, Episode from individual written report,
translated from Turkish)
 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

When the verbal explanation of S10 in an individual written solution was

analysed, he used the length of band released by reel A in a unit time by
also focusing on the measure of angle “α” that the reel turned for
releasing this length. The same length of band has to be wrapped by reel
B in the same unit time by turning a “β” degree of angle. He made
comparison between these two angles and concluded that since the radii
were different the angles had to be different. He explained that the
amount of angle turned for releasing and wrapping a certain length of
band for both reels will determine their speeds. His argumentation is
dominated by symbolic expressions. He converted the mathematical ideas
obtained by the symbolic operations (coordinating and comparing
changes in angles on both sides by using algebraic expressions) to a
verbal form, successfully. In the explanation, coordination between the
verbal and symbolic expressions is observable. He did not use specific
terminology for the linear or angular speeds, but the last sentence in his
explanation shows he could distinguish between these two concepts. He
called the linear speed, the speed of the band and the angular speed as being the
turning speed of the reels. When the group work was analysed, all the group
discussions concluded with the idea that there is a change in speed. About half
of the groups were able to reach the conclusion that the angular speed was
changing and the other half of the groups could explicitly distinguish the linear
and angular speed concepts, although none of them could use the true
terminology. The pulling speed versus the turning speed and the speed of the
band versus the speed of the reel were some of the terminology used in place of
the linear speed versus the angular speed, respectively.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The cassette activity revealed that the pre-service teachers had many
difficulties with the transformation of semiotic representations, which
resulted in difficulty in mathematical modelling. To visualize the
mechanical system of a cassette player, most of the participants started
the activity by drawing iconic representations most of which were
inappropriate for indicating the real situation. Verbal explanations from
the multi-functional register were commonly used in individual written
reports and during group discussions. In individual reports, the partici-
pants’ inability to convert the verbal explanation to a graphical or
symbolic form was observed. In addition, some inappropriate implica-
tions were drawn between the semiotic representations and the real
situation. The number of representations used in individual and group
 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

solutions considerably decreased along the verbal to algebraic continuum.

During group discussions, participants needed to convert various semiotic
representations for each other, to justify and convey their way of thinking.
As expected, group studies compared to the individual ones positively
affected participants’ fluency between representations (Kertil, Delice &
Aydin, 2009). In the study of Elia et al. (2007a, b), fluency between different
representations was proposed as the determining factor in the problem
solving performances of students. Students attributed autonomous roles to
different representations of a function, and they used graphs as the reference
representation. In this study, on the other hand, students were aware that each
kind of semiotic representation was useful for describing the same situation,
but they had difficulty in catching the connection between the real situation
and the semiotic representation used and in coordinating various forms of
semiotic representations by conversion.
In the mathematical modelling process for the cassette activity, transfor-
mations between semiotic representations from different registers reproduced
by students appeared as a continual endeavour. The transformation of
representations in the form of a conversion between different representations
and in the form of a treatment within a representation appeared concurrently.
The general character of the group discussions with regard to the
transformation of semiotic representations in modelling a real situation
observed in our data was as follows: During the group discussions, an
individual starts thinking with a verbal explanation and others try to
understand this explanation. Others may understand, not understand or
misunderstand this explanation. Therefore, the individual needs a revision in
the verbal explanation or needs another form of representation to convey
and support his/her idea. Concurrently, other participants may reflect their
reasoning by using various semiotic representations, in a way that while one
individual may think in terms of a verbal explanation, another may think with
a graphical representation. At the time, all the participants within a group
may talk at cross purposes (see episodes 2 and 3). Discussion back and forth
between the different representations (verbal–graphical or verbal–symbolic,
symbolic–graphical) occurred many times and a common agreement in the
form of coordination among different representations could be reached or not,
at the end. Participants generally used representations from more than one
register. Reaching a consistency and coordination between the different
representations and reaching a deep understanding with the particular
representation from each register determines the success of modelling.
While trying to convert a particular representation from a source register to
another representation in the target register, modification of the representation
in the source register can proceed. Therefore, our data suggests that the
 ALI DELICE AND MAHMUT KERTIL

transformation of different semiotic representations in the form of treatment

and conversion is crucial for developing, refining and revising important
mathematical constructs during modelling. To make an association between
the semiotic representation registers proposed by Duval (2006) with the
modelling process, because students’ informal and intuitive ways of thinking
appeared during the initial cycles of the modelling process, the multi-
functional register is the semiotic representation system which individuals
most benefitted from. By going through various cycles, students may come up
with a sophisticated way of thinking by coordinating different representations
that can be associated with fluency between multi and mono-functional
registers. In short, modelling can be seen as the endeavour of shifting from
thinking using a multi-functional representation system to fluently thinking
between multi-functional and mono-functional representation systems.
The ability to use multiple representations fluently is proposed as being
an important indicator of meaningful understanding of mathematical
concepts (Cramer, 2003; Santos & Thomas, 2001; Suh & Moyer, 2007).
Duval (2006) emphasized conversion between different representation
registers as the main source of incomprehension in learning mathematics
and he proposed the ability to change representation register fluently as
being the threshold of mathematical comprehension for all learners. The
findings of the current study resonate with these views. However, the
distinct character of modelling problems in terms of mathematical
meaning making and comprehension has to be emphasized. In modelling
problems, semiotic representations that students may work on are not
already given and do not appear explicitly. Students themselves select
diverse representations and they try to mathematize the real situation by
revising, refining and coordinating these representations by going into
various cycles (Kaiser & Sriraman, 2006; Lesh & Harel, 2003).
Therefore, modelling problems may be great contexts for making students
work on the transformation of semiotic representations in a very natural
way. In this way, students may develop transformation abilities and so
become more skilful in the main source of incomprehension in
mathematics as emphasized by Duval. While trying to convert various
semiotic representations into each other, students may also come up with
new informal mathematical ideas as can be seen in the speed concept
(episode 4) which is also the basic argument behind model-eliciting
activities (Lesh et al., 2000).
Mathematical modelling activities involve the complex coordination of a
variety of processes, one of which is the mathematizing by which a real-life
context is mapped and translated into a mathematical domain (Lesh & Doerr,
2003). Before the mathematization process, the current study showed that the
 INVESTIGATING REPRESENTATIONAL FLUENCY

visual iconic representation (picture) of the situation played a crucial role.

Almost all the participants started their solution with a realistic picture in order
to see the situation, but only a small percentage of the pictures were correct.
The pictures they draw scaffold what they do next in the mathematization
process which involves reaching any form of mathematical representations,
objects, relations and operations. Therefore, a visualization ability seems to be
important at deciding the picture for the situation and then extracting the
mathematical meaning from it. These were the impressions that our data
suggested, but the impact of a visualization ability on the modelling process
still requires further investigation.
As a final impression, this study showed the potential of, and the need for
an interdisciplinary approach in teaching some physics and mathematics
concepts, especially within modelling activities (Carrejo & Marshall, 2007;
Doerr, 1997). Although linear and angular speed seem to be physics
concepts, students’ difficulties with these concepts should also be the
concern of mathematics educators. Important concepts in mathematics and
physics (or other disciplines) can be covered at the same time by selecting a
well-chosen real-life situation. In this way, meaningful learning and transfer
of knowledge to other contexts can be achieved.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This article is an extended version of Kertil et al. (2009) presented at the

33rd International Conference on the Psychology of Mathematics
Education in Thessaloniki, Greece with different groups of participants.

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Ali Delice
Atatürk Faculty of Education, Secondary School Science and Mathematics Education
Department
Marmara University
Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey
E-mail: alidelice@marmara.edu.tr

Mahmut Kertil
Secondary School Science and Mathematics Education Department
Marmara University
Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey
E-mail: mkertil@marmara.edu.tr