Problem posing and the contruction of Bayes’ theorem

Abstract

Problem posing and problem solving are suitable tasks for inquiring into the learning of specific concepts. Posing a problem involves setting up a text for the problem and thinking about a plan to solve it. Currently, we have scarce knowledge about students’ effective cognitive process when posing mathematical problems. We have used the theoretical framework of nested epistemic actions (Hershkowitz, Schwarz and Dreyfus, 2001) in order to study how university students built knowledge about Bayes’ Theorem when they solve problem posing tasks. We have identified different characteristics in the process of constructing Bayes’ Theorem and the potential of posing problem activities to generate the abstraction process.