Cognitive challenges of the representation of supply and demand in graphics prepared by university students

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35699/2237-5864.2020.15867

Keywords:

Economics Teaching, Comparative Statics, Labeling Error

Abstract

This work analyzes records of graphical representation of supply and demand built by Engineering students, in order to identify cognitive challenges underlying the teaching of Economics. It is about an exploratory research that used graphics prepared by 47 students during an exercise carried out in an Economics class. Among the obtained results, it is possible to highlight the lack of familiarity with comparative statics as a method of economic analysis and the conceptual and graphic difficulty inherent to the distinctions between: demand and quantity demanded, supply and quantity offered. The results find an empirical support in related works in the literature about the cognitive challenges underlying the interpretation of graphs. The cognitive challenges observed refer to failures in coding, labeling and information processing, for example.

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Author Biography

Ruth Margareth Hofmann, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, PR, Brasil.

Possui graduação em Ciências Econômicas, mestrado e doutorado em Educação pela Universidade Federal do Paraná. Atualmente é professora do curso de graduação em Engenharia de Produção da UFPR.

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Published

2020-04-17

How to Cite

HOFMANN, R. M. Cognitive challenges of the representation of supply and demand in graphics prepared by university students. Revista Docência do Ensino Superior, Belo Horizonte, v. 10, p. 1–20, 2020. DOI: 10.35699/2237-5864.2020.15867. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/rdes/article/view/15867. Acesso em: 27 jul. 2024.

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