Activating Students in Introductory Mathematics Tutorials

This paper describes a pedagogical pattern for mathematics tutorials with two different solutions depending on the underlying philosophy of learning or teaching. The aim of tutorials for introductory mathematics courses is for students to practice and apply what they have learned during the lecture. Adopting the traditional approach tutors show how to solve the given problems. Students observe the tutor solving problems on the chalkboard, copy the solution, and usually assume they are able to solve similar problems by themselves next time. Following a constructivist philosophy of learning we present a ‘parallel’ – different – solution to the same problem where learners do actively mathematics while learning how to solve mathematical problems.