Beyond the Equation:

Unraveling How Bachelor of

Secondary Education Major in
Mathematics Applies the
Mathematical Concepts in
Real-World Situations
Introduction
• Mathematics plays a fundamental role in daily life, influencing
various aspects of our personal, professional, and societal
activities. Its importance extends far beyond academic settings,
affecting how we understand and interact with the world around
us. Mathematical thinking enhances problem-solving skills and
decision-making abilities, enabling individuals to analyze
situations, weigh alternatives, and make rational choices in
everyday scenarios, from calculating travel time and optimizing
routes to evaluating purchasing decisions. Through learning
mathematics, students are formed and developed their thinking
abilities such as logical thinking, analyzing, synthesis, critical
thinking, and creative thinking. Correspondingly, mathematics is
required in nearly every level of education and holds a vital
position in almost every country's curriculum. With such
importance, mathematics education aims to make students
interested in learning and learning math and applying
mathematics to solve real-life problems.
• According to Indriani and Julie (2017), mathematics learning will
be more meaningful for students if the mathematical ideas are
linked to real-life situations. The fact that students understand
the intimate relationship between mathematics and practice will
become the motivation for students to learn about mathematics,
and at the same time, is the basis for students to relate and
apply mathematics in fields in practice. On the contrary, if
students learn mathematics without being attached to practical
experiences, they will quickly forget knowledge and not apply
mathematics to other sciences or real-life (Freudenthal, cited by
Indriani and Julie (2017).
 •According to Freudenthal, mathematics must be associated
with the practice, close to students, and meaningful to society in
order for mathematics to have human value. Correspondingly, the
practical contexts are one of the defining characteristics of this
approach to mathematics education (cited by Van Den Heuvel-
Panhuizen (2003)). According to the RME theory, students should
learn mathematics by developing and applying mathematical
concepts and tools in situations in life (Van Den Heuvel-Panhuizen,
2003).
•According to NCTM (2000, p. 4), there has never been a greater
need for people who can use their mathematical knowledge in
everyday situations. As a result, the significance of mathematics, a
subject deeply ingrained in daily life, is growing for mathematical
instruction receives the most curriculum time across all nations.
• Over the course of humanity's long history, it has been
established without dispute that mathematics has had a major
influence on human development. Math is not just the
foundation of science and technology, but it is also a practical
instrument used in many other disciplines, including
economics, engineering, and art instruction. Furthermore,
mastering arithmetic helps people improve higher order
thinking skills (Laurens, Batlolona, Batlolona, & Leasa, 2017).
Statement of the Problem
• The study will aim to Unravel on How Bachelor of Secondary
Education Major in Mathematics Applies the Mathematical
Concepts in Real-World Situations.
Specifically, this study answers the following questions
1. What is the profile of the participants in terms of;
1.1. Age
1.2. Sex
2. What are the mathematical concepts that are needed to apply in
real-world situations?
3. How Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in Mathematics
students effectively apply mathematical concepts learned in their
coursework to solve real-world problems?
Review of Related Literature and Studies

•This chapter of the paper presents the review of related

literatures, and the similarities and differences of studies cited
about applying mathematical concepts in real-world situations. The
researchers have gone through intensive readings of material
downloading through the internet which has a great significance to
the problem.
Review of Related Literature
• Real-world examples help students make the connection between
abstract ideas and useful applications. They raise student
involvement, assist them in seeing the application of math in
real-world situations, and frequently demystify difficult concepts
to make them easier to understand. It is helpful to think of the
application of mathematics to real-world problem solving—also
known as mathematical modeling—as a multi-phase process that
includes the following steps: comprehending the situation being
described; creating a mathematical model that captures the
essence of relevant elements and relationships embedded in the
situation; navigating the mathematical model to determine what
follows from it; interpreting the computational work's outcome in
order to arrive at a solution to the practical situation that gave
rise to the mathematical model; assessing that interpreted
outcome in light of the original situation; and sharing the
 The process of resolving mathematical application problems
must be viewed as cyclical rather than as a linear movement from
givens to goals, as various authors have emphasized. (Burkhardt,
1994; Greer, 1997; Lesh & Lamon, 1992).
• In a review, Selase Asempapa (2015) stated that students are
exposed to practical issue solving using mathematical modeling.
situations where critical thinking was required. Model-making
assignments call for using past knowledge, strategizing, testing,
and rewriting solutions in a practical setting (Greer, 1997; Lesh,
Doerr, Carmona, & Hjalmarson, 2003). Mathematical modeling is
thus the process of creating and refining a mathematical model
to represent and resolve real-world issues. Mathematical
modeling, on the other hand, is the act of translating both ways
between mathematics and the real world (Blum & Borromeo Ferri,
2009). Making sense of the physical or social world through
mathematics and mathematics as a system of formal structures
and representations is what the modeling process aims to do
• In another article published by ScienceDirect.com | Science,
Health and Medical Journals, Full Text Articles and Books., n.d., it
states that the students thought the process of making the
connection between mathematics and real-world applications
was important, they also thought it was not done well enough.
Though only a certain area of mathematics that are provided by
the students as being relevant to real-life were mostly about
numbers, such as calculating and shopping, and their
connections in real-life had been acknowledged as a qualified
example. Examples of these included LCD screens, linear
algebra, taximeters, and the greatest integer function. In fact,
students should comprehend and explain the correlations from a
mathematical point of view; simply knowing a math subject and
how to apply it in real life is not enough. While student behavior
demonstrates a strong commitment to most of the connections
between mathematics and real-life.
• Subsequently, according to Altay et al., (2017), the ability of the
eighth-grade pupils who took part to make the connection
between mathematics and real-world situations is insufficient. It
is discovered that pupils typically draw flimsy parallels between
mathematics and everyday life. Stated differently, it has been
noted that the majority of pupils associate mathematics primarily
with numbers, forms, and calculations in their everyday lives.
This conclusion is consistent with other research findings in the
literature including students, teachers, and teacher candidates
(Erturan, 2007; Umay, 2003; Garii & Okumu, 2008; Lee, 2012;
Özgen, 2013). Although the majority of teacher candidates can
give examples of mathematics in everyday situations, these
examples were
discovered to be restricted to four operations, shopping, and time
calculations. Since numbers and geometric forms are the easiest
concepts to understand in daily life, it stands to reason that
student approach the real-world scenarios presented in class
primarily through the lens of these notions. When we discuss
mathematics, individuals tend to think of numbers and forms
Related Studies
• The study entitled “Using Mathematics, Mathematical
Applications, Mathematical Modelling, and Mathematical Literacy:
A Theoretical Study” by Mumcu, (2016) investigated the
connections among mathematical modeling, mathematical
applications, mathematical literacy, and the idea of applying
mathematics in daily life. The associated literature tends to treat
these ideas as separate ideas, which causes confusion and
makes it challenging to comprehend how they relate to one
another. The mathematical procedures inherent in these ideas
and the mathematical knowledge these procedures demand is
explained in detail in this paper. An attempt is made to highlight
the themes that run across these notions, the key issues they
highlight, and the fundamental knowledge and abilities that
people should be introduced to. Sample modeling and application
challenges are provided in this regard. Upon completion of the
research, a few suggestions are made. Upon completion of the
research, a few recommendations are made in light of the
• Moreover, the study by Smith & Morgan, (2016) entitled
“Curricular Orientations to Real-world Contexts in Mathematics”
claimed that children should be prepared to use mathematics in
the actual world through their mathematics education. In this
work, the researchers look at how the curriculum in a sample of
eleven jurisdictions materializes connections between
mathematical education and the actual world. The researchers
specifically address how the curriculum is oriented toward the
application of mathematics, how real-world contexts are
positioned within the curriculum content, how various student
groups are expected to interact with real-world contexts, and how
much real-world problem solving is included in high-stakes
assessments. The findings of the analysis indicate that there are
variations throughout jurisdictions and a certain degree of
inconsistency between official perspectives on the practical
applications of mathematics and how these perspectives are
• In addition, the study entitled “Mathematics Teaching in Vietnam
in the Context of Technological Advancement and the Need of
Connecting to the Real World” by Tran et al., (2020) where
education and training are undergoing a profound and drastic
overhaul, the focus of instruction is shifting from imparting
knowledge and skills to developing students' competencies. After
2018, Vietnam is going to implement innovative mathematics
curricula. Connecting mathematical concepts to other subjects,
to real-world applications, and to mathematical ideas themselves
is the goal of mathematical education. This study explores two
important topics in mathematics education in Vietnam:
Vietnamese students' motivation for learning mathematics and
the effectiveness of current ways of teaching the subject. This
study makes some recommendations for mathematics teaching
based on the answers to these questions.
 These recommendations address changes to the current
mathematical curriculum in schools as well as the ways and
degrees to which teachers should relate mathematics to the real
world in the context of the rapid advancement of science and
technology. In order to improve students' competency in
mathematics, this study also provides some examples of how to
explore practical content problems and provide real-life settings in
mathematics instruction. The researchers also propose that, in
order to keep up with the rapid advancements in information and
communication technology in Vietnam, the country's national
mathematics curriculum should be revised.
• The study entitled “Real-world Connections in Secondary
Mathematics Teaching” by Gainsburg, (2008), the field of
mathematics education emphasizes how crucial real-world
connections are to instruction. Few studies have explicitly looked
at if, how, and why teachers connect mathematics to the real
world, despite the body of existing evidence suggesting that this
practice is rare and weak in actual classrooms. In order to gather
information for this study, the researcher asked 62 secondary
mathematics instructors about their knowledge of and
application of real-world connections, their goals for doing so,
and the variables that both encourage and inhibit this practice. In
order to supplement the survey results with qualitative
information, the researcher also watched five teachers as they
made contacts outside of the classroom and performed follow-up
interviews. The findings provide an initial overview of the
application of real-world connections in secondary mathematics
classrooms and highlight important questions for further focused
investigation, especially with teacher perceptions of the best
• In addition, the study entitled “Using Dynamic Mathematics
Software to Model a Real-world Phenomenon in the Classroom”
by Çekmez, (2019) one of the major dimensions of mathematical
competence is mathematical modeling. Well-crafted modeling
exercises can give students the chance to apply mathematical
ideas and methods in real-world contexts. Furthermore, modeling
exercises are thought to be appropriate settings for allowing
students to apply a variety of problem-solving techniques and
integrate their understanding of several mathematical fields. In
this aspect, math teachers see computers as potential tools for
creating modeling exercises, and they also see well-designed
environments as enhancing the advantages of modeling work.
This study provides an example of how dynamic mathematics
software can be used to create an interactive learning
environment. It provides this by first discussing the pedagogical
value of a real-world phenomenon that was chosen for a
modeling activity and then going over how the activity should be
implemented in a classroom. Lastly, suggestions for how to
organize the implementation of modeling activities in the
Theoretical Framework
• The theory of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) was born from
the idea of linking mathematics with practice (Uzel & Uyangor,
2006), emphasizes the use of real-world contexts to teach
mathematical concepts. The idea is that students learn better when
they can relate abstract concepts to their everyday experiences. The
RME is a separate teaching theory of mathematics education,
conceived and developed in Finland (Van Den Heuvel-Panhuizen,
2003; Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen & Drijvers, 2014). Developed on
the ideas of Freudenthal et al at Freudenthal Institute (Van den
Heuvel-Panhuizen, 2000) the theory of RME considers mathematics
as a human activity (Freudenthal, led by Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen
(2000)). According to Freudenthal, mathematics must be associated
with the practice, close to students, and meaningful to society in
order for mathematics to have human value. Correspondingly, the
practical contexts are one of the defining characteristics of this
approach to mathematics education (cited by Van Den Heuvel-
Panhuizen (2003)). According to the RME theory, students should
learn mathematics by developing and applying mathematical
• According to Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen and Drijvers (2014), real-
life situations in RME are not only real-life situations but also
situations that students can imagine. The extent to which the
RME stresses incorporating real experiences into students'
perceptions. These situations serve as sources for forming
mathematical concepts, tools, processes, and contexts for
students to apply mathematical knowledge in the later stages.
Simultaneously, students' knowledge will broaden as they master
the particular and more general aspects of the topic, thus
removing some contexts.
• According to Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen and Drijvers (2014), real-
life situations in RME are not only real-life situations but also
situations that students can imagine. The extent to which the
RME stresses incorporating real experiences into students'
perceptions. These situations serve as sources for forming
mathematical concepts, tools, processes, and contexts for
students to apply mathematical knowledge in the later stages.
Simultaneously, students' knowledge will broaden as they master
the particular and more general aspects of the topic, thus
removing some contexts.
 •According to Lev Vygotsky, Contextual Learning Theory
suggests that students learn more effectively when they can see
the relevance of what they’re learning to real-life situations. It
encourages the integration of real-world problems into the
curriculum to make learning more meaningful. This approach is
grounded in constructivist theories of teaching and learning, which
emphasize the importance of students constructing their own
understanding based on their experiences.
•In view thereof, the researchers seek to explore and analyze
the ways in which these educators integrate their mathematical
training into everyday scenarios. By investigating the
methodologies and contexts in which mathematics is utilized, this
study aims to highlight the relevance of mathematical education in
real-life applications and to shed light on the practical
competencies that these future teachers develop throughout their
Thank You!