The impact of lecture notes on an engineering student's understanding of mathematical concepts

• Analyses of mathematical competencies in written texts.
• Interpretations of types of understanding as revealed from development in written material about a concept.
• Discussions of gains and losses of written and provided notes from lectures.
• Contribution to knowledge about the role lecture notes may have in engineering educations.

In large group lectures in mathematics at tertiary level, it is common practice to make notes of the teacher's comments and blackboard notes. This paper reviews a study of such notes along with other written materials. The aim was to investigate the process of approaching written texts from a competency perspective to interpret the impact note-taking may have on indicated rationales for learning and types of understanding. The interpretative case study reviewed notes made by an engineering student and notes provided to the students by the teacher. In order to trace development, the written material included lecture notes along with notes for task solving presentations and solutions to mini-tests. Results showed that instances of relational understanding were traced, but the main strategy was instrumentalism – aiming for use of rules. By identifying gains and losses of self-made and provided notes, a further illumination of rationales for learning was obtained.