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Understanding of limits and differentiation as threshold concepts in a first-year mathematics course
Citation
Oates, GN and Reaburn, RL and Brideson, MA and Dharmadasa, HK, Understanding of limits and differentiation as threshold concepts in a first-year mathematics course, Proceedings of the Eleventh Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics, 26 November - 1 December 2017, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, pp. 108-120. ISBN 978-85-8167-237-3 (2018) [Refereed Conference Paper]
 | Microsoft Word (Conference Paper Submitted) 414Kb |
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2017 the Author
Official URL: https://www.univates.br/media/evento/delta/proceed...
Abstract
Threshold concepts remain relatively unexplored in mathematics, despite suggestions that the troublesome nature of such concepts pose a critical barrier to student understanding of mathematics. Many studies have identified student difficulties with limits, and their findings point to a strong likelihood that limits do indeed constitute a threshold concept in mathematics. This paper describes the initial results in a study that sought to investigate students’ understanding of limits and differentiation from the prospective of Threshold Concepts. While the findings to date do not provide conclusive evidence for limits as a threshold concept, they do reinforce the troublesome nature of the limit concept, and suggest some important implications for the teaching of limits consistent with previous studies.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | calculus, threshold concepts, misconceptions |
| Research Division: | Education |
| Research Group: | Curriculum and pedagogy |
| Research Field: | Mathematics and numeracy curriculum and pedagogy |
| Objective Division: | Education and Training |
| Objective Group: | Teaching and curriculum |
| Objective Field: | Pedagogy |
| UTAS Author: | Oates, GN (Associate Professor Greg Oates) |
| UTAS Author: | Reaburn, RL (Dr Robyn Reaburn) |
| UTAS Author: | Brideson, MA (Dr Michael Brideson) |
| UTAS Author: | Dharmadasa, HK (Dr Kumudini Dharmadasa) |
| ID Code: | 121940 |
| Year Published: | 2018 |
| Deposited By: | Education |
| Deposited On: | 2017-10-23 |
| Last Modified: | 2019-02-01 |
| Downloads: | 172 View Download Statistics |
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