• Approaches to learning of linear algebra among engineering students 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne (Peer reviewed; Bok; Book; Bokkapittel; Chapter, 2017-02)
      The present paper investigates engineering students` own descriptions of what they mean by learning of linear algebra and how they know that they have learned something. I seek to extract keywords from engineering students` descriptions of learning of this discipline by drawing on grounded theory techniques and classifying the answers in conceptual and procedural approaches. By this, both detailed ...
    • Assessment considerations during lockdown in Norway: An exploratory case study with focus on misconducts in university mathematics 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2023-05-11)
      The present paper raises a discussion about assessment formats in mathematics courses at Norwegian universities during the Covid lockdown. This proved to be challenging since the European GDPR regulations are strictly interpreted in Norway, making proctoring at home difficult. Based on analyses of nine university teachers’ feedback on how exams were carried out at their university during lockdown, ...
    • En tematisk analyse av hva ingeniørstudenter gjør når de lærer lineær algebra 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2021-09-15)
      Denne artikkelen diskuterer hva ingeniørstudenter gjør når de lærer lineær algebra. Arbeidet inngår i et pågående forskningsprosjekt om læring, og grunnlagsdataene for artikkelen ble samlet inn ved at studentene besvarte et obligatorisk spørreskjema der spørsmålet om hva de gjør når de lærer lineær algebra, ble stilt som et åpent spørsmål. Dataene representerer derfor studentenes egne ord om hva de ...
    • Engineering students' instrumental approaches to mathematics; some positive characteristics 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne (Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2018)
      The present paper presents three deliberately chosen mathematical episodes observed in a class of engineering students taking a basic calculus course. By drawing on analyses of instrumental and relational learning strategies, the episodes are shown to illustrate instrumental approaches indicated by the students. The paper discusses positive characteristics about these approaches while further data ...
    • Exploring Tensions in a Mathematical Course for Engineers utilizing a Flipped Classroom Approach 

      Fredriksen, Helge; Hadjerrouit, Said; Monaghan, John David; Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne (Book; Chapter; Bok; Bokkapittel; Peer reviewed, 2017-02)
      Flipped Classroom approaches to teaching are becoming increasingly popular in higher education, but there is a lack of empirical research. We present here a study performed during an engineering course for 20 students at a Norwegian university, on student appropriation towards Flipped Classroom through interviews, questionnaire, video/quiz usage statistics and classroom filming. We approach this ...
    • First-year engineering students’ mathematics task performance and its relation to their motivational values and views about mathematics 

      Tossavainen, Timo; Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne; Haukkanen, Pentti; Mattila, Mika; Johansson, Monica (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2020-11-26)
      This study investigates Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish first-year engineering students’ task performance in mathematics and examines how it relates to their motivational values and beliefs about the nature of mathematics. In a set of seven mathematical tasks, female students outperformed male students, for example, in the simplification of symbolic expressions. Our findings also show that ...
    • Gender perspectives on a flipped classroom environment 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne; Fredriksen, Helge (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2022-09-20)
      The present paper investigates the gender perspective of flipped classroom. In particular, it considers how the collaborative setting of in-class group-work affect the female population of students. The paper draws on an in-depth analysis of the interview with one such student. The focus of this interview was on interactional collaboration between peers during group work activities in a ...
    • Ingeniørstudenters bruk av læringsverktøy i et lineær algebraemne : hvilken rolle spiller nettbaserte forelesninger? 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2015-11-11)
      I denne artikkelen diskuteres studentenes bruk av læringsverktøy med spesielt fokus på et nettbasert tilbud. Egne forelesninger i et emne i lineær algebra for master ingeniørstudenter, fjerde år, har blitt streamet og publisert, og jeg har undersøkt hvordan studentene har brukt disse forelesningene. Data er innsamlet første og tredje gang dette ble gjort, og hovedvekten i denne artikkelen er lagt ...
    • Interpreting teaching for conceptual and for procedural knowledge in a teaching video about linear algebra 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne; Vos, Pauline (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel, 2018)
      The aim of this study is to investigate teaching videos about mathematics, seeking to uncover research-based foundations for their quality. By drawing on the notions of procedural and conceptual knowledge, the research was operationalized by asking professionals in undergraduate mathematics education (n=18) to interpret sections of a teaching video. The video dealt with a topic in linear algebra. ...
    • Norwegian freshmen engineering students' self-efficacy, motivation, and view of mathematics in light of task performance 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne; Tossavainen, Timo (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2022-02-15)
      We report on 71 Norwegian freshmen engineering students' self-efficacy and motivation in mathematics. Students' responses to five-point Likert scales were analysed across three groups corresponding to different performance levels on a set of mathematical tasks. The groups were investigated to trace differences in self-efficacy, motivation, and the epistemological beliefs about the nature of mathematics. ...
    • Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish first-year engineering students' motivational values and beliefs about the nature of mathematics 

      Tossavainen, Timo; Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne; Haukkanen, Pentti (Chapter; Bokkapittel, 2022)
      We report from a Nordic research project that has investigated first-year engineering students in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, and the relationships between their task performance, motivational values, and beliefs about the nature of mathematics. The present paper focuses on the covariance between their motivational values and beliefs from the perspectives of gender and nationality. The results ...
    • A note about frequencies being close or amplitudes being small in frequency analysis 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2015-10-10)
      In an earlier paper, an alternative method for how to solve the frequency analysis problem was offered. The object of the present paper is to bring about how to handle situations where the frequencies are close to each other or there is an amplitude that is really small.
    • Perspectives and reflections on teaching linear algebra 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne; Hogstad, Ninni Marie; Monaghan, John David (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2020-06-03)
      This paper presents ‘expert opinions’ on what should be taught in a first-year linear algebra course at university; the aim is to gain a generic picture and general guiding principles for such a course. Drawing on a Delphi method, 14 university professors—called ‘experts’ in this study—addressed the following questions: What should be on a first-year linear algebra undergraduate course for engineering ...
    • Swedish first-year engineering students’ views of mathematics, self-efficacy and motivation and their effect on task performance 

      Tossavainen, Timo; Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne; Johansson, Monica (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2019-08-29)
      We examine a group (N = 88) of Swedish first-year engineering students, their motivation, self-efficacy, and beliefs about the nature of mathematics, and how these relate to their task performance in mathematics. In our data, engineering students who emphasized the exact reasoning in their view of mathematics performed significantly better in a set of mathematical tasks than those who emphasized ...
    • Take-Home Exams in University Mathematics and Science Subjects: Some Ethical Considerations 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne; Kristiansen, Raymond (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2024)
      This article addresses some challenging perspectives related to offering take-home exams in mathematics at university level. The challenges arose during work on a previous article where four perspectives originating from Bjerrum Nielsen’s framework (2003) were used to analyze universities’ assessment methods during the Covid lockdown in our country. The perspectives had some ethical considerations ...
    • Themes within lecturers' views on the teaching of linear algebra 

      Rensaa, Ragnhild Johanne; Hogstad, Ninni Marie; Monaghan, John David (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2019-09-25)
      This paper reports on themes that arose in an investigation of university lecturers’ views on the teaching of linear algebra. This focus on themes was the initial part of a study concentrating on four areas: What is important to teach in a first course in linear algebra? Are there teaching methods which are particularly suited for such a course? Are there tools that should/should not be used; and ...