Author V. Sevim
Biography: Volkan Sevim is Associate Professor of Mathematics and the Coordinator of the Mathematics Program in the Department of Computer Science & Mathematics at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. He received his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Mathematics Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research examines learning processes involved in the co-evolution of problem solving and problem posing. Dr. Sevim has presented his research at NCTM, AERA, PME, and PME-NA. Dr. Sevim has taught upper level mathematics courses at a public high school in Charlotte, NC, for five years. In the last eleven years, he has been teaching mathematics courses to undergraduate students, and mathematics education methods courses to prospective teachers, at university level.
Cifarelli V. V. & Sevim V. (2014) Examining the Role of Re-Presentation in Mathematical Problem Solving: An Application of Ernst von Glasersfeld’s Conceptual Analysis. Constructivist Foundations 9(3): 360–369. https://constructivist.info/9/3/360
Cifarelli V. V. & Sevim V.
(
2014)
Examining the Role of Re-Presentation in Mathematical Problem Solving: An Application of Ernst von Glasersfeld’s Conceptual Analysis.
Constructivist Foundations 9(3): 360–369.
Fulltext at https://constructivist.info/9/3/360
Context: The paper utilizes a conceptual analysis to examine the development of abstract conceptual structures in mathematical problem solving. In so doing, we address two questions: 1. How have the ideas of RC influenced our own educational theory? and 2. How has our application of the ideas of RC helped to improve our understanding of the connection between teaching practice and students’ learning processes? Problem: The paper documents how Ernst von Glasersfeld’s view of mental representation can be illustrated in the context of mathematical problem solving and used to explain the development of conceptual structure in mathematical problem solving. We focus on how acts of mental re‑presentation play a vital role in the gradual internalization and interiorization of solution activity. Method: A conceptual analysis of the actions of a college student solving a set of algebra problems was conducted. We focus on the student’s problem solving actions, particularly her emerging and developing reflections about her solution activity. The interview was videotaped and written transcripts of the solver’s verbal responses were prepared. Results: The analysis of the solver’s solution activity focused on identifying and describing her cognitive actions in resolving genuinely problematic situations that she faced while solving the tasks. The results of the analysis included a description of the increasingly abstract levels of conceptual knowledge demonstrated by the solver. Implications: The results suggest a framework for an explanation of problem solving that is activity-based, and consistent with von Glasersfeld’s radical constructivist view of knowledge. The impact of von Glasersfeld’s ideas in mathematics education is discussed.
Sevim V. (2014) Interdisciplinary Connections between Radical Constructivist Approaches in Mathematical Problem Solving and Structural Design in Architecture. Constructivist Foundations 9(3): 411–412. https://constructivist.info/9/3/411
Sevim V.
(
2014)
Interdisciplinary Connections between Radical Constructivist Approaches in Mathematical Problem Solving and Structural Design in Architecture.
Constructivist Foundations 9(3): 411–412.
Fulltext at https://constructivist.info/9/3/411
Open peer commentary on the article “Radical Constructivist Structural Design Education for Large Cohorts of Chinese Learners” by Christiane M. Herr. Upshot: In the target article, Christiane Herr offers an insightful characterization of how von Glasersfeld’s radical constructivism can be implemented in structural design education in architecture. In this commentary, I articulate possible connections between research on problem solving and problem posing in mathematics education and design processes in structural design education as described in the target article.
Sevim V. (2017) Co-evolution of Problem Posing and Problem‑Solving after Finding a Way In. Constructivist Foundations 13(1): 173–175. https://cepa.info/4429
Sevim V.
(
2017)
Co-evolution of Problem Posing and Problem‑Solving after Finding a Way In.
Constructivist Foundations 13(1): 173–175.
Fulltext at https://cepa.info/4429
Open peer commentary on the article “From Problem Solving to Problem Posing, and from Strategies to Laying Down a Path in Solving: Taking Varela’s Ideas to Mathematics Education Research” by Jérôme Proulx & Jean-François Maheux. Upshot: The significance of Proulx and Maheux’s target article lies in their thorough grounding of some of the ideas of the mathematical problem-posing and problem-solving literature in a strong theoretical framework. They direct our attention to two distinct epistemological assumptions that underlie explanations of problem-solving: the so-called “selection-then-execution hypothesis” and Varela’s problem-posing perspective. In this commentary, I will offer two ways their line of research could be extended.
Sevim V. (2019) Interacting with Other People’s Boundaries, Remainders, and Static Enclosures. Constructivist Foundations 15(1): 67–69. https://cepa.info/6165
Sevim V.
(
2019)
Interacting with Other People’s Boundaries, Remainders, and Static Enclosures.
Constructivist Foundations 15(1): 67–69.
Fulltext at https://cepa.info/6165
Open peer commentary on the article “Problematizing: The Lived Journey of a Group of Students Doing Mathematics” by Robyn Gandell & Jean-François Maheux. Abstract: In this commentary, I point to a few ways that Gandell and Maheux’s important work on problem posing|solving could be further extended. I also offer some pedagogical insights that tie the authors’ ideas to my own experiences as an educator and researcher.
Sevim V. (2021) Problem Posing|Solving as Enactive Metaphorizing. Constructivist Foundations 16(3): 287–289. https://cepa.info/7161
Sevim V.
(
2021)
Problem Posing|Solving as Enactive Metaphorizing.
Constructivist Foundations 16(3): 287–289.
Fulltext at https://cepa.info/7161
Open peer commentary on the article “Enactive Metaphorizing in the Mathematical Experience” by Daniela Díaz-Rojas, Jorge Soto-Andrade & Ronnie Videla-Reyes. Abstract: I offer some connections between Díaz-Rojas, Soto-Andrade and Videla-Reyes’s work on the role of students’ enactive conceptual metaphorizing experiences in mathematics, and existing research on learning and problem posing in mathematics education.
Sevim V. & Cifarelli V. V. (2014) Authors’ Response: Radical Constructivist Conceptual Analyses in Mathematical Problem Solving and their Implications for Teaching. Constructivist Foundations 9(3): 386–392. https://constructivist.info/9/3/386
Sevim V. & Cifarelli V. V.
(
2014)
Authors’ Response: Radical Constructivist Conceptual Analyses in Mathematical Problem Solving and their Implications for Teaching.
Constructivist Foundations 9(3): 386–392.
Fulltext at https://constructivist.info/9/3/386
Upshot: In this response to the open peer commentaries on our target article, we address two emerging themes: the need to explicate further the nature of learning processes from a radical constructivist perspective, and the need to investigate further the implications of our research for classroom teaching.
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