Context based tasks on differential equations to improve students' beliefs about the relevance of mathematics

Motivated and talented mathematics students are not always convinced about the relevance of mathematics. More insight into applications of mathematics can be beneficial for students in terms of preparing them for their future study and career. Using design research a particular intervention had been developed which differentiated by student interest, in order to improve students' beliefs about the relevance of mathematics. The students selected were those studying advanced mathematics at upper secondary school in the Netherlands. The intervention had been designed to teach differential equations through tasks with science-, medicine-, or economics-related contexts. The results show that the students appreciated the context-rich tasks, which provided them with insights into how mathematics can be applied in other sciences and contributed to the improvement of their beliefs about the relevance of mathematics.